Section II

The Synthetic Drug Marketin Barcelona

Since Spain was one of the pioneer countries in the techno-dance culture, its syn-thetic drug phenomenon has received special attention from journalists,researchers and academics. Reports, articles, books and other works have beenpublished on this topic since the mid-1990s, mainly focussing on synthetic drugconsumption and the techno-dance culture related to it.

Nevertheless, the largest gap in the bibliography on this subject concerns the sup-ply and distribution of synthetic drugs. Although some publications and researchstudies in Spain have included the supply side of the ecstasy market as part of abroader picture, this is the first time a group of Spanish researchers have spent onefull year analysing this issue specifically within the context of a European researchproject. As with any initial stage, the research suffered from weaknesses and gapsthat have either been solved in part during the fieldwork and/or must be tackled inthe future.

The project was carried out by the Instituto de Estudios sobre Conflictos y AcciónHumanitaria (IECAH). This organisation was founded in 2000 and is headquar-tered in Madrid. The research team was composed of Mila Barruti, Jose LuisDominguez and Joan Pallarés, and co-ordinated by Virginia Montañés. Duringfieldwork we also relied on the incomparable assistance of Cristina Aneas, NuriaCalzada, Anna Fabregat, José-Ignacio Gallego, Charo Reyes, Anabel Rodríguez,Meritxell Saez, Lucía Sanjuan and David Silvestre.

Methodology

During the initial phase of the research, a preliminary assessment of the syntheticdrug market in Spain at the national level and in Barcelona was done based on theanalysis of the sources of information listed below:- Articles from three major Spanish newspapers: El País (1992-2002) and El Mundo

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Introduction

to control the synthetic drug market and trafficking. This kind of information –nec-essarily based on institutional and social materials– is valuable in comparison withother sources, especially information obtained by the team of anthropologists.In this phase, methodology was focused on semi-structured interviews with mem-bers from the various security forces, lawyers and justice administrators in order toreconstruct the institutional aspect. Most of the interviews were carried out usinga questionnaire developed based on the topics listed in the research protocolagreed upon at the beginning of the project. The questionnaire was adapted whenrequired by the job or specialisation of the person interviewed.

In addition to their fieldwork, the main researchers and some collaborators fromboth teams met periodically to exchange experiences, solve difficulties and com-pare information. These working and debate sessions allowed us to advance morefluidly, open new research lines and, above all, make the different research tech-niques more flexible in obtaining information and analysing the drug traffickingphenomenon which has important methodological and practical implications dueto its “hidden” nature.

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(1996-2002), La Vanguardia (2002). Clippings from other newspapers were alsoanalysed though less systematically.

- Grey literature provided by the Monitoring Centre on New Drug ConsumptionAmong Youth in Catalonia;

- National and local surveys and studies on the phenomenon of synthetic drugconsumption;

- National and local statistics on law enforcement activities, drug seizures andarrests for drug-related crimes.

- Annual reports on the drug phenomenon released by national law enforcementagencies (Plan Nacional sobre Drogas, Ministry of the Interior) and the CatalanSupreme Court Prosecutor’s Office (1993-1998);

At the same time, three types of potential informants were selected especially fromamong the contacts of some collaborators at the Monitoring Centre on New DrugConsumption among Youth in Catalonia:1

a) Consumers of different drugs who could give information regarding their sup-pliers;

b) Retailers, mostly operating at low and mid-levels who could provide informa-tion on several topics related to the research, (focused interviews);

c) A network of key informants composed of professionals in the leisure sector(clubs, after-hours parties, etc.) or who work with drug users and dealers (edu-cators dealing with teenagers and youngsters, etc.).

Some members of the research team (anthropologists) carried out more intensivefieldwork in public spaces (streets, plazas, parks, etc.) and night time leisure loca-tions (bars; discotheques; after-hours; clubs; raves and festivals).

The variety of the informants, as well as the required knowledge of different dis-tricts of the city and nightlife, provided early insights into the study. Nevertheless,the lack of time left no room for in-depth interviews with higher-level distributorsor further study of some indicators such as, for example, local production of ecsta-sy and MDMA powder. The short period of time made it impossible to build theconfidence and the level of trust needed to carry out in-depth interviews on themost hidden parts of the issue.

Analysis of institutional action

The research team was completed by a group of criminologists with experience inqualitative research. Due to the difficulty of gaining access in a limited period oftime to upper-level privileged informants (i.e. medium and high-level distribu-tors), one part of this team’s research was centred on analysis of institutional action

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1 Catalan name: Observatori de Nous Consums de Drogues en L’ámbit Juvenil. Herein called “MonitoringCentre”.

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Very little is known about the synthetic drug market during this phase. The firstpolice seizure took place at the end of this period when, in 1986, the police foundtwo ecstasy-type capsules in a stolen car.

1.2. Initial phase (1987-1989)

In this phase, consumption was still linked to small social and cultural circles (cos-mopolitan, elitist and countercultural) and pills were bought abroad. However,ecstasy began to appear in the press and people started speaking openly about it asthe “love drug”. Ibiza became the meeting point for national and foreign visitorswho transmitted the cultural innovations in their respective circles. There wasincipient trafficking from Ibiza to other Balearic Islands, Madrid, Catalonia andValencia. Batches of ecstasy circulated in Madrid and Barcelona but, mainly, Ibiza.Most of the importers were Spanish and foreign young people (European tourists)who worked on their own, on a small scale, with small quantities (dozens or hun-dreds of pills), with no complex infrastructure or large numbers of collaborators.Profits were high, two or three times the investment made. One of the ways ofsmuggling them was in containers for legal pills like vitamins (Gamella and Alvarez,1999).

Although the police and judicial control over ecstasy was very flexible, since therewas no social alarm related to the drug (Esteban, 1997), the police began to putsome pressure on the market in 1987 when 12 foreign citizens were arrested with120 MDMA doses (Capdevilla, 1995; Roig-Traver, 1994).

Together with machine music, other national styles like “bakalao music” werebecoming popular. The Valencian dance scene and DJs contributed to this popu-larisation. The first press wave occurred with news and reports on the issue. In thelate 1980s, the first “techno” discotheques, where “pills” circulated, opened inMadrid and Barcelona.

1.3. Phase of popularisation (1990-1991)

Ecstasy consumption expanded to groups of young people outside the original cir-cles. This popularisation began in the initial urban and tourist areas (the BalearicIslands, Valencia, Madrid and Barcelona) and spread to the rest of Spain. Ibiza wasstill the reference point for many people who had their first contact with the drugon holiday on that island. Consumption was linked to the dance and disco envi-ronment. Ecstasy was (and still is) sold two different ways: in pills or in powderinside capsules (Gamella and Alvarez, 1999). Capsules were used in longer intervalsby pouring the powder into a drink or inside a cigarette paper or licking it. Ecstasyin pills dominated the market while ecstasy in capsules became more and moreexpensive and hard to find. Since this period, users have started to prefer the cap-sules to the pills, since they believe they are better quality.

The techno-dance culture, intrinsically linked to the consumption of syntheticdrugs, especially ecstasy-type drugs, has been and still is a very popular phenome-non in Spain. There are areas of the country with an intense influx of Europeantourists during the summer months who come to enjoy the Spanish sun and whathas been called la fiesta: i.e. dancing intensely to the rhythm of electronic music inlong sessions which can last for days.

Gamella and Alvarez (1999) have identified five phases in the diffusion of synthet-ic drugs in Spain. Based on their conclusions and other references (El Mundo, ElPaís, El País Semanal, La Vanguardia, Interviú, OCNE, Capdevila, Esteban, Roig-Traver and Romo), we describe the evolution of the phenomenon in Spain in sixphases, adding the current phase as a new one. This evolution can also be appliedto Barcelona though with some differences in the last phases that will be explainedin section 4.4. (Visibility of the synthetic drug market).

1.1. Preceding phase (1978-1986)

Ecstasy-type drugs were almost unknown in Spain in the late 1970s though therewas news of its presence within tourist circles in the Balearic Islands. Consumptionwas still very experimental and reserved for the “initiated”. Its presence slowlybegan to increase during the 1980s. Due to its characteristics as a rich and tolerant,cosmopolitan, holiday destination, Ibiza played a decisive role in disseminatingand innovating everything related to “dance culture” and acid house music whichspread to the rest of Europe. At the same time, in the mid-1980s, ecstasy could befound in other areas of the country like Barcelona, Madrid, Marbella and, princi-pally, different areas of the Valencia region (the eastern coast). In Valencia, machinemusic (“música máquina”) and the use of other synthetic drugs (amphetaminesand mescaline –capsules containing MDA-) were already popular on nights out.There were networks of bars and discotheques that linked up their opening hours,making long dance sessions possible.

1 The synthetic drug phenomenon in Spain

heroin from Turkey and cocaine) and a significant amount of money (El País, 4December 1993).

But major quantities of ecstasy still came from abroad. One press report explainedhow the international ecstasy trafficking and distribution networks worked inMadrid. “Most of the methamphetamines or ecstasy derivatives are produced inHolland and Belgium, then usually enter Spain through Gijon and Ibiza, going onthen to Madrid. Once in Madrid, the drug is distributed to free flats1 [pisos francos]because of security reasons, so none of them stores big quantities. [...] From each flatthe pills are distributed to the retail sellers, who sell them for a price six times high-er than the factory price.” The creation of infrastructures based on flats and productdiversification of the product has helped trafficking networks expand the market.Sometimes the importers were just a group of friends, with no involvement in otherdrug markets (cocaine or heroin) or any previous criminal record, who investedsome money to do a little business (El País, 24 March 1996). The characteristics ofthose arrested for ecstasy-related crimes differed from other international net-works specialised in trafficking cocaine and heroin.

Some of these groups attempted to control the sale in certain areas and discos byinfiltrating the security services of the bakalao clubs and using teenagers to sellpills inside the premises. One of these was, for example, the Miami gang, “a crimi-nal organisation made up of 18 people that had become one of three organisationscontrolling drug trafficking in the region” (El País, 9 October 1996).

Esteban (1997) indicated The Netherlands and Poland as the main countries of ori-gin; those with the clandestine laboratories where synthetic drugs were produced;Holland being Spain’s main supplier. In December 1993 an Italian man was arrest-ed and 155,000 tablets discovered, making it the biggest seizure in Spain till then.“From a label with the price in Dutch guilders, it can be deduced the merchandisecomes from that country” (El País, 26 December 1993).

Though there had been some intoxication cases and a few deaths related to ecsta-sy consumption (both taken alone or together with other drugs), few were receiv-ing treatment for their addiction (Gamella and Alvarez, 1999).

1.5. Phase of routine and decline in the cycle (1997-1999)

Some decline in the cycle of ecstasy consumption began in second half of the1990s. Its success seemed to be coming to an end since it was no longer a new drug.The number of people quitting their consumption increased and, on the retailmarket, product quality also fell as ecstasy began containing more amphetamine(Gamella and Alvarez, 1999).

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Demand exceeded supply, although the presence was detected of organisationsintroducing larger quantities of the substance onto the market and the pressreported the phenomenon. In May 1991, Ibiza police arrested two passengers andseized 9,625 pills on a ship originating in Holland that had put in at Barcelona (ElPaís, 4 December 1993).

1.4. Phase of vulgarisation and massive consumption (1992-1996)

Major growth in consumption peaked and the availability and popularity of the drugincreased. The supply increased and prices fell. Ecstasy lost its original link tocounter-cultural or spiritual ideas and became an almost conventional object of con-sumption. Its spread extended to all areas; teenagers began to use it thus decreasingthe average age of initiation. The denomination of “routes” emerged: discothequesand mega-discotheques located on the outskirts of villages or cities which linkedtheir opening hours during the weekends so when one was closing another wasopening at the same time, making it possible to spend the whole weekend at a dancevenue. The most famous one was the “bakalao route” (taking its name from bakalaomusic) between Madrid and Valencia; frequented not only by young people from thatregion but also from other Spanish cities. Ecstasy was the drug of choice on this routeand the press reported it (Gamella and Alvarez, 1999).

This popularisation also brought changes in social and sexual relations in andaround the dance floor. The social relations system conditioned by gender rolesbecame more evident. Positions occupied by the male role were related to the useof violence, security control, power positions (DJs, party organisers) and the syn-thetic drug retail market. People involved in street fights or violent incidents, pri-vate security guards, DJs, disco owners or drugs retailers were men in most cases.One example of this masculinisation was the sporadic involvement in the dancescene of other male youth groups characterised by violent behaviour, such as sev-eral groups of “skin heads” operating in the ecstasy retail market in Barcelona(Romo, 2001).

Evidence of domestic production began to emerge. Police discovered and disman-tled eleven laboratories between 1993 and 1996 (El País, 29 August 1993; Esteban,1997). In late 1996 the press reported the first trial of people involved in laborato-ries. After that year, there were very few references to laboratory discoveries.

During this period, distribution networks grew in importance and quantity, cover-ing the whole country. Press reports mainly referred to young men (although therewere a few women) among those arrested. Frequently cocaine and/or heroin wereseized together with ecstasy. Some groups began to be considered internationalnetworks or organisations, connected to organised groups trafficking in differentdrugs. The first reference to those networks appeared in 1993 with the arrest inMadrid of a band of seven people from various countries (Spain, Cuba, Uruguayand Croatia) and the seizure of different drugs (pills allegedly produced in Spain, 1 “Free flats” are those used by the distributors to store or distribute drugs.

people arrested in Almeria belonged to an international network and exchangedhashish for synthetic drugs and cocaine with the members of another Dutch group(El País, 31 January 1999).

1.6. Phase of stabilisation (since 2000)

Since 2000 ecstasy use has been increasing again, especially among young peopleand teenagers attracted by the substance because of its easy accessibility and lowprice. But the drug still remains linked to young people, the dance culture andtechno-music in dance contexts, and its consumption is still mainly recreational.People use it at weekends or only on special occasions like a birthday party or con-cert. The consumption of synthetic drugs usually increases during the summer.

Negative consequences related to MDMA consumption have begun to appear andthe media has widely reported news concerning deaths related to ecstasy con-sumption on the young dance scene. Between March and June 2002, the pressreported five deaths of young people (two of them in Barcelona) connected withthe consumption of synthetic drugs, sometimes mixed with other substances likealcohol and hallucinogenic mushrooms. These deaths initiated a wave of pressarticles and reports on the issue, an increase in the social alarm related to ecstasyconsumption and in law enforcement action at the retail level.

Paradoxically, there is more information now than ever before on substances soldon the drug market. Since 2000, the NGO Energy Control has been testing pills atraves and other dance settings and disseminating information concerning pillsthrough their website. Its main areas of action are Catalonia and Madrid, althoughit also operates elsewhere. The organisation Ai Laket in the Basque Country tests allkinds of substances.

Press reports have increased on arrests and synthetic drug trafficking mostly alongthe Mediterranean coast. There are clear parallels in the press and the literaturereviewed in the description of the profile of MDMA dealers: Spanish youngstersinvolved in the retail market, sometimes teenagers who buy in a group to lower theprice of the drug (El País, 6 March 2002). In her research on gender and the dancescene, Romo (2001) describes the profile of the retailers involved in the dancescene. She interviewed nine retailers (women and men); all of them had complet-ed compulsory basic education and most had some higher education. All of themhad broad experience in the use of different drugs linked to the dance culture andno previous experiences in the penal system. They may spend around a year oreven less in the retail market. They mainly sell ecstasy and other drugs such asGHB. Some of the men have, occasionally, also sold LSD, speed or powder amphet-amine and cocaine.

Distributors at a higher sales level are described and even interviewed by the press.This is the case of Fernando, 26 years-old, whose profile is outlined in El País: “He

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Gamella and Alvarez (1999) relate that many retailers got involved in the market toprovide themselves with these substances for their own and their friends’ con-sumption. They were younger than those dealing other illegal substances and mostof them had no criminal or penal records. Due to their lack of resources, some ofthem worked on credit, something unusual in other illegal markets. During thistime, the perception of risks related to the sale of illicit substances increasedamong these low-level retailers and women left the positions (mainly asusers/retailers) they had occupied since the beginning of the phenomenon in thepredominantly male synthetic drug business (Romo, 2001).

According to Esteban, the synthetic drug market in 1997 still differed from otherillegal markets in that it was not controlled by big drug trafficking organisations.Traffickers were “small provincial networks that supply themselves and redistributethe product on the clandestine market, carrying out the whole process of the opera-tion themselves: purchase, transport and sales” (Esteban, 1997). However, accordingto Gamella and Alvarez, the synthetic drug market linked up with other retail mar-kets (Gamella and Alvarez, 1999). Dealers selling other substances offered synthet-ic drugs at weekends to meet the demand. There was also growing participation atthe trafficking or distribution level of groups with experience in trafficking otherillegal drugs, including heroin.

Those arrested were 25 years old on average and mostly connected to the dancescene such as, for example, doormen or DJs (El País, 16 September 1997). The dosesusually seized exceeded 10,000 units (sometimes even as many as 100,000), quan-tities considered very significant in the earlier phases and usually related to anorganised group and local laboratories. The press reported the dismantling of fiveMDMA laboratories and made the first reference to domestic production of GHB,so-called “liquid ecstasy” (El País,16 September 1997).

In 1999, for the first time in Spain, police broke up a group that used the Internetto sell synthetic drugs (basically speed and ecstasy). They had three laboratories indifferent cities (one in the University of Granada, another in Almansa, Albacete andone more in Torrevieja, Alicante) and one of those arrested was a Chemistry lectur-er at the University of Granada (El Mundo, 27 September 1999; El País, 28September 1999).

After 1998, press reports increased regarding international networks (with most oftheir members Dutch or Belgium citizens) and references to the Dutch origin of theMDMA seized. Europe was considered the major producer and exporter of syn-thetic drugs and Spain began to appear to be a transit point to other destinations.

Other nationalities also appeared in the press: Latin Americans and EasternEuropeans linked to Spain through different cities, mainly Valencia, Andalusia,Madrid and the Basque Country. Hashish, cocaine and speed were usually foundwith the synthetic drugs seized. The press began mentioning the exchange of dif-ferent substances with people from MDMA producing countries; e.g. a group of

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2.1. General information about the city

Catalonia is an autonomous region. The Autonomous Administration of Cataloniais embodied in the Generalitat of Catalunya, the self-governing body of Catalonia,consisting of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat and the ExecutiveCouncil or Government. At the moment, a process is underway of transferringduties and responsibilities from the Spanish central government to theautonomous regions; this affects, among other things, the implementation of drugpolicies and law enforcement activities.

Barcelona, the largest city in the Catalonian autonomous region, is located in northeastern Spain on the Mediterranean coast less than 150 kilometres from thePyrenees and the border with France. The city covers almost 100 square kilometres,half of which are urbanised. As in the rest of Catalonia, there are two official lan-guages in Barcelona: the regional Catalan language, and Spanish.

The city of Barcelona has one of the highest percentages of immigrants (especiallydomestic ones) in Spain. One third of the one and a half million inhabitants living inthe city comes from other Spanish regions and 7.6% of them have foreign nationali-ties.1 Foreign inhabitants doubled in the last decade; main countries of origin areEcuador, Morocco, Colombia and Peru, in that order. But there are still more peopleleaving Barcelona than coming to the city: the immigration rate is almost 16%(including domestic and foreign immigrants) while the emigration rate is 26%.

Beginning in the 1960s, industrial and economic growth in Catalonia attractedmost of the domestic immigrant population, especially those from Andalusia in

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holds a university degree and works in a production company. People like him. Hesmiles easily and is a nice guy. He buys the pills in quantities of 10,000, payingbetween 180 and 250 pesetas [1.08 and 1.5€], depending on the quantity. He thensells them to other dealers. Sometimes 40,000 pills a week: 2.8 million pesetas[16,829€] income in one month” (El País Semanal, 4 November 2001)

The media has also reported on people arrested while working as couriers to theUS, smuggling synthetic drugs due to the increase in consumption in that country.They are described as young men, with no contacts or money, some unemployed,recruited at parties or in the dance environment. They were offered around 3,000€

to travel from Spain to Holland or Belgium and from there to the US (El País, 17February 2000; 16 July 2001; 8 August 2001; 17 March 2002; El Mundo, 28 November2001).

The participation is clear in the synthetic drug market of networks that traffic otherdrugs. Even at the domestic production level, connections between the differentmarkets have increased as well as the attention devoted to them by the press. Fivelaboratories were dismantled between 2000 and June 2002; one of them could alsoprocess cocaine and other drugs, like cocaine and hashish, were seized in most ofthe cases.

It seems some of the big groups have shifted their activities from the heroin mar-ket (importing from Iran and Turkey) to the cocaine and ecstasy markets. In May2002, police in Madrid arrested an Iranian, a resident of Spain since 1984, andseized almost 300,000 pills. According to the police, he had worked in the heroinmarket and was now trafficking cocaine and ecstasy, importing the latter fromHolland and distributing it to several regions in Northern Spain, Madrid, Alicanteand Andalusia. (El Mundo, 22 May 2002; La Vanguardia, 21 May 2002).

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1 Figures from January 2002, available at the Barcelona council website(http://www.bcn.es/english/ihome.htm). All statistics in this section come from this source. Very goodinformation on the city and a good collection of statistics can be found there.

drugs except when there is some problem of access to the retailers. Informationthey have on the substances, quality and prices available in the retail market andthe changes in some of these aspects vary depending on the connections they havewith the market. The type of user, time and frequency of consumption, involve-ment in social networks with a strong presence of drug users and knowledge of acertain territory all influence the quality of this information.

According to the Monitoring Centre on New Drug Consumption among YoungPeople in Catalonia, located in Barcelona, users generally have the perception it isvery easy to acquire drugs in Barcelona, especially cannabis, cocaine, MDMA orspeed. Law enforcement officials interviewed have also confirmed their perceptionof easy access to ecstasy at establishments and parties in Barcelona. Access fluctuatesmore with other less popular substances, such as ketamine, GHB, opium, etc. Theresults of the last Eurobarometer (EORG, 2002) show that Spanish young people(aged 15 to 24) have a higher perception of easy access to drugs than the rest ofEuropean young people:

Tab. 1 - Ease of drug acquisition in Europe

MEMBER STATE IT IS EASY TO GET DRUGS (%)

Near where In or near my At In pubs /

I live school / college parties clubs

Germany 52.0 47.5 72.5 59.7

Old Länder 52.2 48.3 71.5 60.1

New Länder 51.0 43.8 76.7 57.7

Austria 39.0 34.4 60.8 57.5

Belgium 64.0 64.3 80.9 81.4

Denmark 58.6 48.6 75.6 64.5

Spain 71.3 66.2 89.9 90.1

Finland 42.5 33.9 49.2 46.0

France 70.2 63.8 85.3 67.0

Greece 65.2 69.2 77.6 88.1

Ireland 68.9 58.1 80.5 77.2

Italy 54.1 50.1 65.8 80.5

Luxembourg 62.2 60.5 74.7 73.2

Netherlands 68.7 41.1 56.4 72.1

Portugal 57.8 59.3 79.1 85.8

United Kingdom 71.1 56.2 79.2 72.7

Sweden 47.6 49.0 59.4 56.4

European Union 61.9 54.9 76.0 72.3

Source: EORG, 2002

The synthetic drug market is very conditioned by the consumption patterns of thisdrug which, at the same time, are very much linked to the summer season, holidaysand weekends. Due to the increase in consumption during those periods, the avail-

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southern Spain. The increase in population transformed the cities near Barcelona,joining them to the urban scenery and shaping the metropolitan territory ofBarcelona. This group of towns, demarcated by the rivers Besós and Llobregat, hasmore than four million inhabitants (almost 70% of the population of Catalonia),2

and an area of approximately 500 square kilometres. The metropolitan region is themajor urban agglomeration in the Mediterranean area due both to its high popula-tion density (1,357 inhabitants/sq. km) and economic dynamism which has beenconstant throughout its history. This area is characterised by intense internalmovement and relationships generated by the great flow of people working in a dif-ferent place than where they live.

Currently, major economic activities in Barcelona are business (152,951), the ser-vice sector (73,249) and trade (73,249). Unemployment rates both in Barcelona cityand the metropolitan area decreased from 11.8% in 1995 to around 7.5% in 2002.This decrease is lower than the average in Catalonia (11.6% in 1995 and 6% in 2002)and rates are still lower than the national average (15.7% in 1995 and 8.7% in 2002).Working participation is 62% (72% for men and 53% for women). Average educa-tion in the city is also higher than the national Spanish average: the illiteracy rate isvery low (0.2%) and half the population have a basic education. The city has sevenuniversities with a total of 173,762 students.

The selection of Barcelona as the venue for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games gen-erated deep transformations in the city, both at the urban level and in economicand cultural life. The renovation of the city has turned it into an important cultur-al centre and a destination for huge numbers of foreign tourists. The city sawaround 2,250,000 tourists in the first eight months of 2002.

Together with the Balearic Islands, Madrid and Levante, Barcelona plays a centralrole in originating and disseminating new trends in the youth culture. Almost 12%of the city’s population are between 15 and 24 years old with this rate increasing inthe metropolitan area. The dynamic young nightlife attracts many foreign youngpeople who go not only to Barcelona but also other sites along the CatalonianMediterranean coast. These villages change their appearance during the summerand other holiday periods with the arrival of massive flows of national and inter-national tourists. The proliferation of bars, discotheques, tents, raves, concerts andother musical events, both in the city and on the coast, and especially easy accessto alcohol, are also factors attracting young European tourists.

2.2. Presence of different market places for different drugs

There is generally a diversified, ongoing availability of all illegal drugs in the retailmarket in Barcelona. Drug users usually have no problems easily obtaining illegal

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2 Population of Catalonia: 6,361,365. Population of Spain: 41,116,842.

(Italian, North African, Russian, Algerian, Georgian, and Senegalese) and an aver-age age of 28. (Canal Solidario, 12 December 2001; Andrés, 2001).

2.2.2. Private setting market

Private settings guarantee more security for the dealer and some regularity andquality for the customer as the relations are more direct. The trust relationship withthe retailer is very important in this market. Principal methods are via mobilephone calls and sales in particular flats. These methods of dealing are increasing;especially those via phone calls. The conversation is very fast and concise and con-cerns quantity, price and where and when to meet. It is very succinct and no fur-ther details are discussed. The transaction is made later in a bar, flat or in the street.Sometimes a car is also used to make the transaction after initial contact by phoneor in a bar. Some retailers after a phone call deliver the pills or cocaine directly towhere the customer is located. Cocaine and cannabis are traditionally related toprivate settings though in this case only with quantities over 25 grams. At present,synthetic drugs can also be found in these contexts.

2.2.3. Dance and night life industry market

Different settings can be identified within the context of the nightlife industry.

a) Bars, pubs, etc. These are areas where young people meet to begin the nightand, among other things, buy various drugs. There are different kinds of bars:quiet bars with spaces to play games; pubs with a more relaxed atmosphere forconversation; bars with a small dance floor functioning as a small discotheque;etc. Although these bars are scattered all over the city, there are some areaswhere pubs and bars are concentrated called “ambient zones”. A route could befollowed through the city centre that would cover a large number of streets andbars. These bars are usually crowded with young people. Some of these barsfunction later as after hours.

Groups involved in this market for a long time sell cannabis (hashish and mar-ijuana) in some of these areas. Cocaine and synthetic drugs can also be foundin this context.

b) The dance context. This is the main market for synthetic drugs althoughcocaine, LSD and other substances are also available. In the early 1990s severalclubs, discos and mega-discotheques in Barcelona specialised in “happenings”related to the dance culture (Pallarés and Feixa, 2000). This brought an increasein ecstasy distribution to such contexts.

A difference can be made between the clubs, discos, mega-discotheques, etc.and raves and concerts in this context. Clubs, discos and mega-discothequesare the settings with the greatest concentration of people and where the maindrug circulating is ecstasy (predominantly in pills). Inside the after hour places

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ability of drugs is greater and more stable during the summer and in leisure activ-ity areas where there is a concentration of pubs and clubs.At many sales points in Barcelona, there is some continuity in retailers and usersknow them. This fact provides the site with stability; users prefer to buy fromknown retailers as they have more guarantee of a good quality to price ratio than ifthey buy from strangers.

Most users know several places they can buy with more or less security and whereto find their usual retailers: a certain discotheque, bar, phone, street etc. When theygo somewhere they do not know who is selling, they ask people they already knowor people they suppose are also users. Sometimes if the user has no confidence inthe quality of the product, but can not find anything else and wants to use, he orshe will buy what is available on the market and use it anyway.

Although retail drug sales may be more intense or specialised in certain places, theillicit drug market in Barcelona is spread across the city. This changes dependingon the new selling strategies implemented by the retailers or law enforcement pres-sure and police control. Nevertheless, the current retail drug market can be divid-ed into four categories depending on the different types of drugs sold and differenttype of users frequenting these markets:

2.2.1. The street market

There are several parts of the city where different drugs can be bought in the streetmarket, mainly cannabis, cocaine and heroin, although other drugs are also avail-able, including synthetic drugs (but in this case only on weekends).

The main characteristic of the street market is its mix and diversity. There are nostreets or urban areas where only one type of drug is sold though there are areaswith a predominance of one drug over the others. For example, where cannabis(hashish and marijuana) is sold, some retailers specialise in just cannabis whileothers offer it together with other substances. Cannabis and ecstasy are soldtogether in public squares and car parks near discos.

The street heroin market is spread among several areas of the city. It is a very stablemarket, open every day of the year. Main sales points are located in several deteri-orated sections of neighbourhoods in the city centre and outlying areas with amostly lower class population, mainly immigrant with high unemployment. Thismarket is aimed at the traditional/older heroin user and well-known by the socialofficials (police, health workers, etc.). Apart from heroin, other drugs can also befound there like cocaine or “speed balls”, (cigarette papers filled with a mixture ofcocaine and heroin, sold for 15€ a dose). According to the testimony of socialworkers from NGO assistance services, around 500-800 persons go every day to theCan Tunis neighbourhood, the main area for buying and using heroin. Thoughmost heroin users are Spanish, some are foreigners with diverse nationalities

110

2.3. Presence of dealers specialised in supplying specific drugs

Dealer specialisation disappeared with market diversification. Specialisation wasclearer some years ago, especially with heroin dealers although some of these alsosold cocaine. Cannabis dealers also specialised but the popularisation of heroin inthe 1980s led them to offer and sell it along with cannabis. The same is now hap-pening with synthetic drugs; dealers who traditionally sold heroin or cocaine inworking class neighbourhoods are beginning to sell synthetic drugs, exclusively atweekends.

Rather than referring to specialised dealers, we could instead differentiate dealersthat offer principally one substance but have others in case their clients ask forthem. Nevertheless, a difference can be made in markets according to the mainsubstance sold. In this case there is a clear difference between the synthetic drugmarket and other markets, especially the cannabis market. Markets related to “tra-ditional” drugs are more stable mainly because:- the clientele is more stable;- the markets are older and more traditional;- the clientele is not as young or, at least, has more age diversity.- customers have more economic buying capacity;- bigger quantities are bought more regularly.

Some dealers combine their activity with a formal job, sometimes related to thenight time leisure industry (waiters, DJs, etc.).

Demand increases during the summer season along with the number of dealers.Occasional dealers sell only during the summer since the benefits are higher withthe same effort as during other periods of the year.

2.3.1. Dealers specialised in heroin

These dealers control specific areas of town and sell heroin in deteriorated areas ofthe city centre where most heroin users either live or go to buy the drug. Certaingroups or families, well-known to users, control the retail heroin market in manyworking-class neighbourhoods in the outlying areas of the city.

These kinds of dealers have generally been selling heroin for a long period of timeand usually work for some network, not for themselves. In most cases, they, or theirnetwork, have a fixed space (a street, part of a neighbourhood, etc.), a stable net-work of customers, a number of contacts and more or less stable working hours.

2.3.2. Dealers specialised in cannabis

Cannabis dealers sell in the street and near pubs and clubs. The average age of amid-level dealer is 30. They sell to younger people who go on to sell the cannabisto their friends. Some distributors use the stable network of cannabis dealers to

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(premises that open when the rest of the discos are closing), the consumptionof other drugs is higher and the sale of GHB is more frequent.

The diffusion of new substances begins at raves and alternative parties orwhere less popular drugs are used. They are at the forefront of consumptionpatterns, particularly the more alternative and independent raves and not bigcommercial ones organised by people linked to the dance industry (discos,clubs, etc.). Various substances are offered: opium, GHB, ketamine, hallu-cinogens (some natural) and MDMA powder. Nevertheless, since sales are notas open as in other dance settings, it is necessary to know the retailers to buythe drugs. This is why many people go to these establishments with the drugsthey are going to use already in their pockets. There is the perception that sub-stances sold at these settings have better quality and prices due to the alter-native philosophy of the audience and the party itself, although the alterna-tive spirit of earlier raves is becoming more commercial.

2.2.4. Smart Shops and Grow Shops

There is no great difference between Smart Shops and Grow Shops. As opposedto the Dutch model, which keeps a clear separation between the substances soldin them, their operating licenses are no different; they pay the same type taxes(since the activity is not classified) and sell the same products.

The shops are legal but legislation applied to them is confusing, i.e. the drug act(Ley del Medicamento). All products under the monopoly of chemists, such asephedrine, were withdrawn from the Smart Shops and Grow Shops in 2002.Legislation is ambiguous regarding the rest of products. Since the intoxication ofseveral people after consuming magic mushrooms and increasing pressure fromchemists and herbalists over the last year, the Health Department has increasedcontrols on these shops through inspections.

Barcelona has around 20 of these shops. Some operate as warehouses or branchesof warehouses and distributors of certain products. They are legal although withvery different licenses and no union. What they offer and how they work is very dif-ferent in each shop. Not everything they sell is legal. Some shops sell substancesthat could be withdrawn at any moment, such as those considered medicines thatshould be sold in the chemists according to the drug act or other “natural drugs”like psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, salvia divinorum, peyote and other cactus.

Although the separation between Grow Shops and Smart Shops is not as clear asit is in Amsterdam, (some Smart Shops sell cannabis-related products and someGrow Shops sell natural psychedelic products), some differentiation is still possi-ble. Natural psychedelic drugs (magic mushrooms, cactus, ayahuasca, etc.) aresold at Smart Shops. Products related to cannabis, like seeds (not banned inSpain), self-cultivation paraphernalia (soil, lamps, etc.) or clothes made fromhemp are sold in the Grow Shops.

112

Galicia and/or the Basque Country to buy cocaine, and Castellón to buy speed,then they sell the drugs in Barcelona. Others work in the night time leisure indus-try. They sell pills and cocaine in particular as well as other, less popular, sub-stances like speed, GHB and ketamine. They belong to the low to mid-level of themarket. Their main goal in selling is to meet their own expenses when they finishwork (when some of them begin to party).

2.4. Visibility of the synthetic drug market

Development of the synthetic drug market in Barcelona has fallen a bit behinddevelopment in the rest of the country. While from 1997 to 1999 the phenomenonentered a phase of routine and exhaustion of the cycle and ecstasy consumptionexperienced a slow-down in other parts of Spain, the context in Barcelona wasmore similar to the phase described as the vulgarisation and massive consumptionphase. The expansion of these phases is related to the enormous impact the danceculture has made on the city. This subculture has become extremely developed andis very entrenched among the young population.

Barcelona is presently experiencing the phase of routine and exhaustion of thecycle, mixed with signals of the stabilisation phase. MDMA consumption is stillattractive for younger people. The phenomenon is now more heterogeneous. Thepresence of groups of teenagers and youngsters connected with machine music hasdecreased. Though music played in discos has become more diversified; techno-music is still the most trendy; and there is a boom in cannabis consumption.

As we have already mentioned, the availability of drugs is greater and more stableduring those periods and in those areas with a concentration of pubs and clubs dueto the increase in consumption during the weekends, summer season and holi-days.

2.4.1. Dealing places for synthetic drugs

From the data collected at the Monitoring Centre (Díaz, Pallarés, Barruti, 1999;2000 and 2001) and the results of fieldwork and interviews carried out in 2002,dealing places for ecstasy in Barcelona are as follows:

a) Bars, pubs, etc. Buying drugs is common in this kind of first-place setting. Sincethe retailer may not have the substance with him or her, they may have to go outto pick it up and make the buyer wait. The drugs are more available at certainhours when the greatest crowd of young people has arrived making it unneces-sary to wait or, if so, only for a short time.

Retailers in some of these bars can only be approached by people they know.Other bars may restrict access to a select group of people. There are also bars inoutlying neighbourhoods where people meet first and buy their drugs before

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occasionally sell cocaine, powder amphetamine and ecstasy. Some of them, usual-ly stable dealers who sell to older customers, sell in special flats. The quantitybought in this type of sale is bigger that in the street market (around 20-25 gr.).Hashish is the type of cannabis traditionally sold, though the sale and self-cultiva-tion of marijuana is increasing.

2.3.3. Dealers specialised in cocaine

These dealers sell their product by phone and in pubs and very specific publicplaces (certain streets, squares, etc.). They have been in the business longer andusually have a larger criminal record than synthetic drug dealers since this marketis more problematic than that of ecstasy. They may also offer ecstasy, especially onweekends, if they have made a buying trip. As with cannabis dealers, mid-levelcocaine dealers are about 30 years-old and some of them sell to younger people(under 25) who also sell to their friends.

2.3.4. Dealers specialised in synthetic drugs

These dealers sell synthetic drugs (as well as sometimes stimulants and cannabis)in the dance environment (pubs, clubs, raves, etc). Due to the characteristics ofsynthetic drug consumption patterns, current ecstasy retailers only work “parttime”, (on weekends and/or inconsistently) while heroin, cocaine or cannabis deal-ers are more consistent. Low and mid-level retailers may begin their activities onThursday in case of a rave or a party.

Some ecstasy retailers only sell to acquaintances. Those who sell medium to smallquantities may have some of these characteristics: - They only sell to their group of friends or sometimes also to acquaintances or

friends of friends;- Their economic level matches their life style and they prefer to avoid risks;- They sell small quantities;- They have a more or less fixed and safe selling point;- Some of them use mobile phones to arrange the meeting and sell either at their

house or the customer’s.

2.3.5. Dealers who offer different substances

Cannabis, cocaine and other stimulants are offered in pubs and dance environ-ments (raves, alternative parties and after-hours). They usually sell hashish,cocaine and ecstasy. Some of them prefer to sell cocaine since the profits are high-er but will sell pills as well to diversify and increase their stock. Dealers related tothe youngest age groups sell ecstasy, speed and hashish. The market fluctuateswidely; there is no consistent demand. They increasingly sell opium in “alternative”contexts.

Some of them are “autonomous”. They go to Holland to buy ecstasy and LSD,

114

the customer since the relationship is more direct. There are users who have adirectory with the telephone numbers of a group of retailers they can phoneand meet in a safe place or even in their own home. Institutional sources haveemphasised the importance of mobile phones in the ecstasy market and the dif-ficulty of their acting in this environment due to the use of pre-paid cards.

f) Particular flats. As well as the phone, this form of sales is increasing and nolonger used exclusively in the cocaine market. Police pressure on public placesis one of the reasons for the increase in sales in the private context. On the otherhand, since the relationship of confidence and prior knowledge is more intenseand important here, any sale to a total stranger would be difficult in this envi-ronment.

g) Recreational premises. Places where people go to play electronic games andwhere younger people meet. Cocaine and cannabis are also sold alongsideecstasy at the weekends.

2.5. Changes in the location of dealing places

Due to the deaths of several young people in 2002 after having consumed ecstasy(along with other drugs) at dance parties, security checks have increased bothinside dance clubs (by private security) and outside (by public security forces); afact that has lead to some changes in the location of dealing sites.

Until now, transactions inside discos were made and drugs were used primarilyin toilets, especially cocaine, which requires some paraphernalia to prepare thelines. Now toilets are the first place to be checked in those discos with morestrict controls, so transactions have been transferred to the centre of the hall orsome of its corners. Security checks have also led to transactions being trans-ferred to areas near the dance club such as car parks or the surrounding area.Cars have become the place to make the contact, the transaction and store themerchandise.

But since checks are also increasing outside dance clubs, synthetic drug dealers arebeginning to use new places for dealing. Shopping centre car parks have becomesales points in some areas.

Student Parent Teacher Associations have been protesting about the increase inecstasy sales in and around secondary schools. However, according to informa-tion from key informants, this is not as important in terms of sales as in the levelof social alarm it causes. Hashish and cannabis can be bought near secondaryschools (only on Thursdays and Fridays). Ecstasy retailers in secondary schoolsare usually older students, non-problematic, belonging to the upper-middleclass and considered very social and well-integrated with some prestige amongthe other students.

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going to the city centre, other places in the same neighbourhood or other met-ropolitan areas (like areas with many discos or mega-discotheques).

b) Indoor dance venues. Mid-level dealers may sell inside some of these placeswhere they have specific areas that, although they fluctuate, are easy to find bytheir customers. Their presence is conditioned by the control (or lack of control)of the private security guards working inside the place. They may also agree totransactions inside the disco and then make them outside.

The biggest percentage of sales is concentrated at dance venues. Ecstasy isopenly offered at discotheques, though prices are higher there (as is the casewith hashish and cocaine), especially as the night progresses. Some retailersmay offer pills to strangers, although security checks are increasing. The offer isvery open at the end of the night in some discotheques specialised in machinemusic.

Sales are lower at concerts since those attending usually bring what they aregoing to use with them. At raves and alternative parties, the variety of sub-stances offered increases (for example speed, opium, ketamine or mushrooms)but retailers must be known since sales are not as open and general. Availabilityof drugs is low and prices increase at some types of raves. Drug exchanges havebeen detected at some raves, e.g. speed and LSD for pills.

c) Near dance clubs. Transactions here are made principally in car parks, insidecars and/or in the street. These nearby sales increase or decrease depending onwhether controls inside the premises are very tight or not. Security membersinterviewed during fieldwork mainly associated retail sales of synthetic drugswith the party environment, although they suggested transactions are basicallymade outside the establishments (especially in car parks).

d) Street. Areas where synthetic drugs are sold and purchased are areas wheresales are common of other drugs aside from ecstasy. Police generally controlthese. Sales in these settings are decreasing since law enforcement hasincreased; they are currently done only on weekends.

In the squares and parks where teenagers and young people gather andcannabis is sold, those retailers related to networks also offer pills, cocaine andspeed on weekends.

Most users acknowledge they prefer not to buy in the street or from peopleunknown to them since it is easier to be cheated or caught by the police. A largepart of those buying in street retail markets come from abroad and/or have noknowledge of the area.

e) Mobile phone. Mid-level and established level dealers use this method whichguarantees more security for the dealer and a certain regularity and quality for

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2.6. Changes in consumer preferences

The recreational use of different drugs increased in the late 1980s. Synthetic drugs,perceived as low-risk, were among these. As seen in the description of the phasesin the synthetic drug phenomenon, the 1990s saw the emergence of an importantchange in consumption patterns and the use of leisure time, especially in the envi-ronment of young people and teenagers. The use of drugs in this period was inte-grated with the use of leisure time and implied no break or violation of any estab-lished behaviour patterns. Drug use was part of the effort of adapting lifestyles andemotions to social demands; consumption was an element of group cohesion(Díaz, Pallarés and Barruti, 2001).

2.6.1. Ecstasy consumption in Spain

National surveys3 of the general population (15 to 65 years-old) have been taken inSpain since 1995. We have used the following series of these surveys: 1995(n=10,000); 1997 (n=12,445); 1999 (n=12,488), 2001 (n=14,113). There have alsobeen national school surveys4 since 1994, so data is available from 1994, 1996(n=19,191), 1998 (n=20,918) and 2000 (n=20,450). Both surveys were done by thePlan Nacional sobre Drogas (PNSD) and results are available at their website(http://www.mir.es/pnd/). Characteristics of the sample in both surveys are notrepresentative for the city of Barcelona so we have to extrapolate the general datato the case study.

According data from the national surveys, the most used drugs in Spain are alco-hol, tobacco, cannabis and cocaine, in that order. Ecstasy occupied fifth place inthe rank of the most used drugs in 2001, except in terms of consumption during thepast 12 months when tranquillisers were more consumed than ecstasy. Recentecstasy consumption (=in the past 30 days or 12 months) has increased in the lasttwo years, together with the use of other stimulants like cocaine. Though in 1999experimentation with ecstasy seemed to have stabilised since 1997 and repetitionof use had decreased since 1995, these figures have increased from that year tillnow. 1.8% of people interviewed had used ecstasy in the past year, 0.7% during thelast moth and 4.2% some time in their life (see table 2).

At the same time, the age of ecstasy users is decreasing, although 20 is the averageage for starting ecstasy use . The age group with the highest prevalence of ecstasyconsumption has decreased from men aged between 20 and 24 in 1999, to thoseaged between 15 to 24 in 2001. 11.7% of young men and 4.2% of women between15 and 24 used ecstasy some time during 2001.

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3 Encuesta Domiciliaria sobre Consumo de Drogas.4 Encuesta a la Población Escolar. Ta

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Although in the two years earlier, use prevalence of GHB and ketamine wasincreasing, during the past year, numbers of people experimenting with thesedrugs have stabilised and even decreased in certain contexts. After beginning inrave contexts and after-hour discos, these drugs spread to discotheques (this truemore of GHB than ketamine). Ketamine is more related to raves, after-hours andmore private uses by “psychonauts”. But its spread seems to have come to a stopsince last winter. Experimental use of these substances is very low compared withMDMA and other stimulants. There is also a certain acceptance of experimentaluse with natural hallucinogenic drugs and practices of self-cultivation of thesesubstances. Although it has a very restricted, non-stable and irregular market,opium use is beginning at raves and alternative parties. Heroin use (though neverinjected) is increasing in the dance context after long parties to counteract thestimulating effects of other substances. Other tranquillisers are also used for thesame purpose.

The most popular drugs in Barcelona are alcohol, cannabis and cocaine. Alcoholand cocaine are used in all contexts (both public and private) and all young partyenvironments. Hashish and mostly marijuana (and self-cultivation practices) haveincreased over the last few years in all groups, among trendy young people and alsoteenagers.

2.7. Price trends

Prices of MDMA and similar drugs have now fallen since their initial stage.During the vulgarisation and massive consumption phase, alongside the growthin consumption, there was also an increase in the drug’s availability reflected inthe parallel increase in the supply of pills and fall in retail market prices. Whileone pill cost around 42€ in 1988 (Gamella & Alvarez, 1997), prices fell to around18€ a unit in the early 1990s. Prices fluctuated between 12 and 14€ in 1996 andthe beginning of 1997 (Esteban, 1997; El País, 24 March 1996). In Barcelona,prices dropped to 5-12€ in 1999 but have more or less stabilised since then andthe average price is presently 6-7€.

The market fluctuates widely; prices depend very much on place, time, and quan-tity purchased. Prices are higher at discotheques and raves; the same occurs inafter-hours and as the night continues. This is why many users buy their drugsbefore going partying to obtain better prices. Prices significantly increase when thesubstance is sold to unknown individuals and may double if the customer is a for-eign tourist. Prices also increase (sometimes as much as 50%) along with demandat big parties, massive happenings or on special dates (like Christmas). Differentproducts also have different prices. Since it is more valued by users, MDMA sold incapsules is more expensive than that in pills.

Currently, the price paid by low to mid-level retailers varies depending on howmany pills are bought. In purchases of 50 to 100 pills, the price runs between 3and 5€ a pill. Around 300 pills cost 3€ each and even less in bigger quantities.

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According to national school surveys, data on ecstasy consumption among stu-dents aged 14 to 18 is as follows:

Tab. 3 - Ecstasy use among students in Spain

FREQUENCY TOTAL in %

1994 1996 1998 2000

Some time 3.5 5.1 3.5 5.7

Last 12 months 3.0 3.9 2.5 4.8

Last 30 days 2.0 - 1.6 2.5

Source: our calculations on data from PNSD 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002.

The figures below on ecstasy consumption are from a national survey of the popu-lation between 15 and 65:

Tab. 4 - Ecstasy use among Spanish residents

SOME TIME IN % LAST 12 MONTHS IN % LAST 30 DAYS IN %

1995 1997 1999 2001 1995 1997 1999 2001 1995 1997 1999 2001

1.9 2.5 2.4 4.2 1.2 1.0 0.8 1.8 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.7

Source: our calculations on data from PNSD 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002.

2.6.2. Consumption patterns in Catalonia and Barcelona

According to qualitative data from the Monitoring Centre (Díaz, Pallarés andBarruti, 1999; 2000 and 2001), fieldwork and interviews, ecstasy use in Cataloniaand Barcelona has stabilised. Consumption is very linked to the dance culture andtechno-music in party contexts. Ecstasy is no longer new. Though ecstasy was atrendy new drug among young people from the early 1990s to 1998, now the lowquality of pills is highly criticised. There is no regular use; consumption is reservedfor weekends, special occasions and the summer season. Teenagers still feelattracted to the substance due to its easy accessibility and low price. On the con-trary, MDMA powder sold in capsules is highly valued for its supposed better qual-ity. MDMA powder can also be taken by sniffing, sucking, mixing it in a drink orwrapping it in a cigarette paper and swallowing it.

The Foundation Santiago Dexeus Font (Suris & Parera, 2002) did a survey amongteenagers (14 to 19 years-old) attending school in Catalonia in 2001. The size of thesample (6,952 students, 4,287 [61.7%] of them from the Barcelona metropolitanarea) allowed representative data to be taken from different districts and theBarcelona Metropolitan area. According to this survey, 8% of girls and 11% of boysbetween 14 and 19 years-old attending school in Barcelona and adjoining districtsadmit they have used ecstasy some time in their lives.

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In 2000, Energy Control found 200 mg. of MDMA in one pill named “Bad Boy”bought on the retail market in Barcelona. However, the average quantity of MDMAfound in the rest of the pills from Barcelona tested by Energy Control that year was71 mg. (MDMA quantity fluctuated between 90 and 50 mg.). In 2001, out of 94 pillsfrom Barcelona analysed by Energy Control, only 9 of them contained no MDMA,or contained it in very small quantities or mixed with other substances like caffeineor amphetamine. The average purity of the rest of the pills was 72 mg., 116 mg.being the highest quantity of MDMA found and 20 mg. the lowest. From the tenpills tested until August 2002, one had only amphetamine, another no active ingre-dient at all and the remaining eight an average of 75 mg. of MDMA (92 the highestand 38 the lowest).5

The two main problems in discovering the quality of pills circulating in the market,apart from the difficulty in knowing what they contain, are: 1) the diversity of pillscirculating in the market (Energy Control analysed 94 different types of pills justfrom Barcelona in 2001 alone) and; 2) the use of the same logo for different kind ofpills. For example, in 2001 Energy Control analysed five different pills with theMitsubishi logo bought in Barcelona. None of them had the same MDMA content(50, 78, 85, 90 and 110 mg.). Only one pill from Barcelona with the Mitsubishi logowas analysed in 2002 and this had no active ingredient.

Approximately 85% of the pills seized by the autonomous police force andanalysed by their laboratory in 2001 and 2002 contained a single active principle,MDMA. Substances found in the rest of the cases were amphetamines and resid-ual amounts of other substances. According to these sources, the quantity ofactive ingredient by dose was very similar in all the samples6 and fluctuatedbetween 70 and 90 mg. (90 mg. of active ingredient is considered a normal quan-tity by specialists). Concurring with this information, one magistrate interviewedconsidered 80-60 mg. the normal quantity of MDMA per pill. A normal activedose would be 125 mg. The average degree of purity is approximately 30%. Pillsusual weigh 250 mg.

In 2002, excipients used in producing the substances were analysed. The excipientused in most cases was lactose or cellulose (see table 5). In this analysis, none ofthose substances (such as rat poison) were detected that have been associated withthe pills by the media and popular mythology.

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Pills are then sold at 6-7€ each to networks of friends and acquaintances or at adisco. If demand is high, or the customer is unknown, prices may rise as high as9-12€. When the customer is a young foreigner with no contacts, prices can riseto 12-18€.

According to police sources, production sale prices run around 1.20€ per unit.

2.8. Purity trends

Synthetic drug quality in Spain, and specifically Barcelona, has experienced fluctu-ations since their appearance among users. Gamella and Alvarez (1999) describedpills sold as ecstasy in Spanish retail markets between 1993 and 1996 as containingthree types of substances: several amphetamine analogues (between 75 and 137mg., MDMA being the most frequent followed by MDA and MBDB); a minor por-tion of amphetamine or caffeine, either separate or combined with a much lowerquantity of methamphetamine; and small numbers of pills contained variablequantities of pharmaceutical products sold in tablet form such as analgesics, legalstimulants and even antibiotics, depending on the area.

After 1996, levels of amphetamine and caffeine found in pills sold in retail marketsincreased along with the number of frauds. At the same time, demand for the prod-uct decreased. This decrease in quality continued during the phase of routine andexhaustion of the cycle (1997-1999). In 1996, Pallarés y Jornet (1996) analysed anumber of pills bought on the retail market in Lleida, another Catalan city, but thathad probably come from the retail market in Barcelona according to their infor-mants. Out of a sample of nine pills, only one contained MDMA (76 mg.), half con-tained MDEA (from 109 mg. mixed with caffeine, to 44 mg.) and the rest just caf-feine or caffeine with ephedrine.

This trend has now reversed and the quality of pills in the retail market seems to bebetter than three years ago although users report the purity of synthetic drugsvaries enormously depending on the branch. Users and ex-users, initiated in theearly 1990s, feel that purity and prices have decreased along with the popularisa-tion in use and this is much more true with pills than powder (in capsules).

Josep Rovira, founder of Energy Control, an NGO that has been testing pills in“party” contexts (raves and festivals) since 2000, states that currently between 83%and 89% of pills tested in Spain contain MDMA while several years ago most ofthem were adulterated. In Rovira’s opinion, the presence of MDMA has increasedin pills sold on the retail market and pill quality has improved over the last threeyears thanks to a pseudo-regulation process attempted in the markets to which thepractise of pill testing has contributed significantly (El Mundo, 5 March 2002;Rovira, 2002). In the analyses carried out this year by Energy Control, the quality ofpills is higher than before and when they are adulterated it is with caffeine oramphetamine.

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5 Our own calculation based on the results of testing of pills from Barcelona done by Energy Control,available at http://www.energycontrol.org.6 The important data in understanding the danger of a pill is the quantity of the active ingredient and notthe level of purity. Two pills can have the same MDMA quantity, and therefore the same effects, but dif-ferent levels of purity because one of them may contain more lactose, for example.

Tab. 5 - Excipient used in the production of pills. Year 2002

Number of samples %

Lactosea 26 38.,8

Cellulosea 7 10.,4

Sorbitol 6 9

S. Id 3 4.,5

Dextrosea 1 1.,5

NS/NH 24 35.,8

Total samples 67 100

Source: our calculations on data gathered from January to May 2002 by the Mossos d'Esquadra.

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As already suggested, the main characteristic of the synthetic drug market inBarcelona (and the rest of the country), i.e. what makes it different from other drugmarkets, is its periodicity. In other words, the ecstasy market is very much condi-tioned by the specific consumption patterns associated with this drug. In thissense, the ecstasy market is defined by the type of user/dealer and the contextwhere they operate (the party environment).

3.1. MDMA production in Spain and Catalonia

Although institutional sources tend to minimise the importance of domestic syn-thetic drug production and highlight the foreign sources of most pills seized, localMDMA production has experienced an increase over the last five years.1 One rea-son for playing down the importance of national ecstasy production might be toavoid promoting this kind of activity since it is relatively easy to install a laborato-ry, as specialists acknowledge, and producing drugs to be distributed in the sameterritory obviously increases profit margins and reduces the number of intermedi-aries.

The first evidence of domestic production emerged in 1993 when police disman-tled two laboratories both along the eastern coast. The press reported the disman-tling, in Elche, Alicante, of the “major and most important clandestine syntheticdrug laboratory ever discovered by the Spanish police”. Just one person ran the lab-oratory, which could produce 6,000 pills of ecstasy or speed per day (El País, 29August 1993). Another laboratory was dismantled in 1994, three in 1995 and five in1996 (Esteban, 1997).

3 Supply

1 Information from the autonomous police force. The World Customs Organisation has also confirmedthe existence of some cases of MDMA production in Spain (WCO, 2002).

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onyl methyl ketone, PMK, and benzylmethylketone, BMK). Chemical industries pro-ducing these substances are subject to regular controls by the national police.According to police sources, though there is still no black market of these productsin Spain, it is beginning to appear.

Synthetic drug production requires large quantities of chemical products.According to Europol (2000) and the World Customs Organisation (2000), most pre-cursors are imported to Europe from China and Central and Eastern Europeancountries. Solvents, acids, caustics, catalysts and reducing agents are other chemi-cal products needed to process synthetic drugs. Some European groups specialisein the production of several of these chemical products, using non-registered pre-precursors and chemical products, as a way to avoid EU controls.

Access to excipients is easier since they are not controlled. This fact has directeffects on the composition of pills as seen in the section on purity. One of the mostused excipients is lactose, a cheaper substance than those (such as rat poison) thatcirculate in urban and media mythology. Therefore the presence of these sub-stances in pills seized is almost non-existent.

3.1.1. Local production in Barcelona

Two kinds of laboratories may be operating in Barcelona and the surrounding area.On the one hand are small laboratories, not very developed, run by young peoplewith some knowledge of chemistry. These are located inside houses and producesmall quantities of pills merely to supply a group of friends for their own con-sumption or to sell in small quantities to their acquaintances. On the other hand,other small laboratories, more sophisticated than the previous but still very rudi-mental, produce MDMA powder and sell it in capsules. They are based in the backrooms of shops that officially sell other merchandise, sometimes clothes.2

In spite of the evidence of local ecstasy production, it is very difficult for lawenforcement agencies to locate or calculate the origin of pills seized during opera-tions carried out in Barcelona. The source of MDMA (the active principle found inalmost all the pills seized) is difficult to find through forensic analysis since MDMAsynthesis can be done anywhere. It is also hard to determine the origin of the drugbased on the substance used to cut the MDMA, i.e. the excipient (lactose, sugar,alcohol, etc.) since they are very common, easy-to-find substances.

Police specialists state the only (uncertain) way to identify whether a pill hasbeen produced in Catalonia or abroad is by analysing the colour and logo. Forexample, whether the logo refers to issues connected with our cultural context orissues more related to other countries. This criterion is obviously not very reliableand the same sources give the example of the first pills seized in Catalonia withthe Barcelona Football Club logo that had been produced in Dutch laboratories.

2 Information from key informants.

In 1997, a laboratory with a production capacity of 8,000 pills per hour was dis-mantled in Madrid before it went into operation (El País, 17 July 1997). In 1998,another more sophisticated laboratory with a production capacity of 20,000 pillsper hour was also dismantled in Madrid (El Mundo, 8 July 1998).

In 1999, Spanish police discovered three laboratories owned by the same network,dedicated to the production of ecstasy and amphetamines. One was located in theUniversity of Granada, one in Almansa (Albacete) and another in Torrevieja(Alicante) (El Mundo, 27 September 1999; El País, 28 September 1999, Europol,2000).

In 2000, a laboratory was dismantled in Bilbao and 140 kg. of hashish and four ofcocaine were seized along with 2,000 pills (El País, 14 November 2000). In January2001, the national police dismantled another laboratory designed for producingspeed in Girona city. In April 2001, a Madrid laboratory run by a young lecturer inveterinary science was dismantled. It was capable of producing ecstasy and pro-cessing cocaine from liquid cocaine imported from Colombia (El Mundo, 17 April2001). Between May 2001 and September 2002, three other laboratories were dis-mantled: two in Madrid and one in Catalonia (El Mundo, 4 May 2001; 16 March2002; OCNE, 2001-2002). Another laboratory was dismantled in Granada at the endof 2002.

Though some of the latest laboratories dismantled are near the sophistication levelof Dutch laboratories, in most cases they are small. When asked about laboratoriesin Catalonia, the autonomous police provided the following picture:

a) Laboratories for the production of synthetic drugs are mainly based outsideSpain, although some of them have been dismantled inside Spanish territory,including the autonomous region.

b) The greatest number of laboratories could be located in the coastal area betweenBarcelona and Girona, although there is no contrasting data on this topic.

c) Local production of pills may be earmarked for Catalonia and the rest of Spain.In the case of Catalonia, the leisure areas along its coast are indicated as majorpoles of distribution (La Vanguardia, 4 September 2002).

d) Information needed to produce the pills is simple to access (through theInternet, for example). Specialists mention a standardisation of production pat-terns in the pills seized.

e) People who install laboratories are usually from Spain though Dutch policereport Dutch citizens may also be installing laboratories in Catalonia.

The largest question is how these organisations get precursors. The customs ser-vice has detected no operations to date that import these kinds of products (piper-

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Most of the information gathered during the qualitative fieldwork is related tothese very decentralised networks with no big structures, mainly composed ofSpanish citizens. Most of the dealers described in this report would fit thismodel.

b) Networks composed of foreign people living in Spain that occasionally or peri-odically buy a specific quantity of pills in order to distribute or sell it. They usu-ally work in leisure time establishments such as bars, pubs, discos, etc.

Over the past few years, there has been a progressive settlement of Dutch citi-zens along the Catalonian coast (especially in Salou, a village in Tarragona), inLevante and the Costa del Sol. Some have contacts with Dutch ecstasy produc-ers and distributors who have a higher level of specialisation than local dealersor distributors. Police associate the presence of this type of importer with theexistence of incipient forms of organisation in trafficking networks. They arebetter organised, fluent in different languages (the use of foreign languagemakes police control more difficult), distrustful and do not flaunt their wealth.They invest their profits in various economic sectors such as real estate.

The press reported one example of this kind of distributor in 2000 when policearrested five people and seized 37,000 pills which could have been sold duringthe Christmas holidays. A Dutch couple, their daughter, her boyfriend andanother Spanish man composed the group. The Dutch couple lived inMaresme, in the metropolitan region of Barcelona. They frequently travelled tothe Netherlands to buy synthetic drugs and imported them to Barcelona by carin hidden compartments designed for that task. Their daughter and the twoSpanish men distributed the drug in quantities no larger than 1,000 pills amongretailers operating in Barcelona and its outlying areas (El País, 24 December2000).

Police sources also point out some groups from the Maghreb that use family orpersonal contacts with Maghreb communities in Holland to establish connec-tions among pill suppliers and distributors based in Spain. Police have locatedthis type of network in the Osona region of Catalonia.

c) Networks specialised in other drugs that begin to distribute synthetic drugs

As seen in chapter 3, some organisations distributing other substances(hashish, cocaine, etc.) have begun to deal in synthetic drugs.

In January 2002, the National Police in Barcelona seized 1,800 pills, 7.6 kilos ofhashish and 13 bags of cocaine and money during an operation that led to thearrest of nine persons, seven of whom were from Morocco. According to thepress, they belonged to a hierarchically organised group and worked as retailersin the street market, using a free flat (“piso franco”) to store the drugs (ElMundo, 5 January 2002).

In addition, some pills have very commercial logos that could be produced any-where.

Pills seized vary from those with a rustic appearance that seem to be homemade(half the pills) to those made more professionally. According to specialists fromMossos d' Esquadra, production of the pills seized in Catalonia is quite standard-ised. When a pill with a higher quantity of active ingredient is found, it may be dueto error, inexperience, the use of low-precision scales or simply because the pro-duction process is not very good. On the other hand, experimenting with new pillcompositions, which would produce different effects, is expensive and requires ahigh degree of specialisation.

Another element that could have an effect on the level of standardisation of theproduction process is the fact that information on pill composition is easy to findand can be accessed by anyone. In a recent police operation carried out by theMossos d'Esquadra, in Vidreres, Catalonia, where a methamphetamine laboratorywas dismantled, the producer was following instructions in a book which can beeasily bought in internet: Fester, Uncle (1996) Secrets of MethamphetamineManufacture, Washington: Loompanics Unlimited, Port Townsend, 4th. Ed.

3.2. Trafficking networks operating in Catalonia and Barcelona

Four types of trafficking networks operating in Catalonia can be distinguishedbased on the characteristics of group members and their level of organisation:3

a) National networks based on contacts among people linked to the dance context

In this case, the suppliers are people who belong to the night time leisure envi-ronment (professionals who do not work in other sectors). These suppliers arethe immediate reference person in the local market and maintain a mereclient/supplier relation with producers. Included in this category are alsodiverse groups of young people who travel to Holland with the objective ofimporting ecstasy to Spain. They have a mid-level of education, good socialrelations and are used to flaunting their wealth.

In April 2002, police arrested three Spanish men in Lloret de Mar (Girona) whofollowed this organisational model. They distributed ecstasy along theCatalonian Coast to retailers who sold the drug to users in the leisure settings ofthis area. They generally distributed the drug in amounts of 1,000 pills eachtime though this quantity could also be increased. When arrested, they weretravelling in a high performance car and transporting 10,184 pills arranged infive packages of 1,000 and two of 2,500 pills, together with 60 grams of hashish.None of them had any criminal records (La Vanguardia, 5 April 2002).

3 Information from institutional sources and press reports.

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Australia (El Mundo, 22 May 2002; 2 August 2001; La Vanguardia, 21 May 2002;El País, 2 August 2001; The Guardian, 21 August 2001; Marlasca, 2002).Another Israeli citizen, 36-year-old Viki Itzhak, was arrested in February 2002 inBarcelona. The United States Federal Court of New York requested his detentioninternationally since he had been accused there of ecstasy trafficking for a totalvalue of US$700,000 (El Mundo, 9 September 2002).

3.3. Trafficking and smuggling methods/routes

According to institutional sources, most of the synthetic drugs seized in Spaincome from abroad. Specifically, Customs and police officials interviewed duringthe research said most of the synthetic drugs that pass through (and/or are con-sumed in) the Spanish territory come from Holland, Belgium or South WestGermany. They mention Amsterdam, Maastricht and Brussels as the main centresof production for the synthetic drugs arriving in Spain.

The origin of pills seized during law enforcement operations in quantities near orabove 100 units is the following:

Tab. 6 - Origin of pills seized (over 100 units)

AREA/COUNTRY QUANTITY %

Year 1999 2000 1999 2000

Netherlands 114,485 270,985 33.32% 31.48%

Belgium 39,231 42,800 11.42% 4.97%

Unknown 189,893 546,970 55.26% 63.55%

TOTAL 343,609 860,755 100 100

Source: Our calculations from data from MIR, 2000; 2001

According to police information, there are two ways of transporting synthetic drugsin the European Union:

- Inside the European Union: small and medium amounts of pills are transportedvia overland routes (private vehicles, buses, trains, etc.) (El Mundo, 31 May 2002;La Vanguardia, 31 May 2002) or by mail;

- Outside the European Union: the most frequent destinations are North America,Asia and Australia. Main methods for transporting the drug are standard postalmail or couriers travelling by air (WCO, 2002; El País, 17 February 2000; 16 July2001; 8 August 2001; 17 March 2002; El Mundo, 28 November 2000).

The most important destinations for synthetic drugs in Spain are Madrid,Catalonia (both the Barcelona area and coast), the Levante area and the coast ofAndalusia. In some cases, Madrid is a point of origin or traffic of drugs destined for

Those involved in these networks try to take advantage of already existent andconsolidated trafficking and/or distribution routes in two different ways: when ecstasy demand increases, a certain organisation specialised in the provi-sion of other substances “barters” its usual product for synthetic drugs to makeprofits at that specific time;

a group exporting other substances may take advantage of the “return trip” toimport pills from producing areas and make the return profitable.

Police sources have described the existence of a connection between ecstasyand hashish routes. Moroccan entrepreneurs who export hashish to Hollandthrough Spain import synthetic drugs on the return journey to distribute themin Spain. But according to these sources, the presence of ecstasy distributionchannels of North African origin is not important.

d) International trafficking networks

Barcelona and its metropolitan region have been the base of one of the mostimportant international synthetic drug trafficking groups ever dismantled bythe police. In May 2001, in Castelldefels (Barcelona), police broke up a grouplead by an Israeli man who called himself Oded Tuito (a.k.a. Simón Revivo orDaniel Tuito) but was born Eliyaho Mamo. A police spokesman stated to thepress: “the fact he was based in Spain, away from his main production and dis-tribution areas, allowed him greater security”.

Another Israeli, Michel Elkaiam, supposedly took over the business when Tuitowas arrested. Elkaiam was arrested few months later (August 2001) togetherwith 36 others of different nationalities. Ten, including Elkaiam, were arrestedin Barcelona and its surrounding area.

Mr. Tuito allegedly bought up the entire production of pills from several clan-destine laboratories in the Netherlands and transported them to Spain, Belgium,France and Germany. It seems he used a variety of couriers to smuggle the drugsout of the European Union. These included strippers from New York, Spanishteenagers or retired people. 340,000 pills were seized in Spain, Israel, theNetherlands, Australia and the US. Sometimes the ecstasy was packed into pic-ture frames and sent via ordinary international mail services. The group had cor-respondents in different countries in charge of distribution and sales. Groupprofits went back to Israel where they were laundered in the real estate market,although it seems they also laundered part of the money in Spain.

These arrests were part of an international police operation code-named“Rave”, coordinated in Spain by the National police and the DEA. Tuito and hiscolleagues were supposedly part of a very well-structured organisation (withanother centre in Marbella, Malaga) that distributed millions of pills annually todifferent international destinations including the US, Canada, Israel and

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As seen in table 8, Barcelona is the third airport in importance in number of pillsseized. But its importance is relative compared with the number of pills seized inMadrid. In 2000, 2,800 pills were seized at the Barcelona airport, 1.7% of all seizuresoccurring in Spanish airports (162,375 in total). In Catalonia, the main means ofentrance for synthetic drugs is private vehicles or public transport through the bor-der area of La Jonquera in Girona. In 2000, Girona customs was the non-airportcustoms with the highest number of MDMA pills seized (see table 9).

Tab. 9 - Pills seized at Customs (except those located at airports)

Province 1999 2000

Alicante 34,971 -

Balearic Islands 6,541 2,014

Valencia 455 -

Girona - 44,050

TOTAL 41,967 46,064

Source: Our calculations based on data from MIR, 1999; 2000

According to police sources, the drug is distributed in small and medium amountstransported by couriers in private vehicles or by bus. Private vehicles were used totransport almost half the synthetic drugs apprehended by the police in 2000 (seetable 7). The first big seizure in La Jonquera took place on 1 May 2002 when a youngSpanish man, 28 years-old and with a criminal record, tried to smuggle 93,000 pills,14 kg. of MDMA and pure amphetamines which could be used to produce 56,000tablets. Police also found two grenades from the former Yugoslavia and a Czechautomatic rifle (El Mundo, 7 May 2002, El País, 7 May 2002). The same month twoIsraelis and a Belgian man were arrested while trying to smuggle 35,000 pills insidetheir car. One of them allegedly traded in diamonds. Police stated to the press thisborder post had been revealed as one of the entrances for large batches of synthet-ic drugs into Spain. This route has been traditionally used to transport hashishfrom the Maghreb to European countries; hashish seizures occur almost everyweek there (El Mundo, 31 May 2002; La Vanguardia, 31 May 2002).

Catalonia is also a transit point for ecstasy export to other places. In March 2002 achance car accident led the police to arrest two men (one 50 years-old with an“Italian accent” and a younger one that “could be Bulgarian”), transporting 123,000pills with the € logo inside their car. In this case, the direction of the traffickingroute was opposite the usual one in international distribution operations, fromSpain to Europe; the pills came from Malaga and were to be distributed inCatalonia, France and Italy. The drug was packed in 123 small bags containing1,000 pills each (El Mundo, 29 March 2002).

Information gathered by the National Office for Narcotic Drug Control (OCNE,2001-2002) indicating Catalonia as a transit zone for other destinations, also indi-cates the metropolitan area of Barcelona as a transit point for the distribution of

the Andalusian coast via an overland route (private vehicle, bus or train). TheLevante is indicated as the area of distribution toward the Balearic Islands (by shipfrom the port of Alicante) and Andalusia (via the highway from Valencia (OCNE,2001; 2002). The two main channels for synthetic drugs into Spain and Catalonia are the air-ports (especially Barajas airport in Madrid) and the border area of La Jonquera inGirona. The importance of drug transport via plane and car/vehicle is listed intable number 7.

Tab. 7 - Means used to transport ecstasy and number of pills seized

Means 1999 2000

Vehicle 107,811 408,730

Person 20,408 47,622

Plane 9,996 160,784

Standard mail – 2,061

Train – 304

Unknown 205,394 241,254

TOTAL 343,609 860,755

Source: Our calculations based on data from MIR, 1999; 2000.

Barajas (Madrid) is the airport with the biggest volume of ecstasy import (seetable 8). The large number of pills seized in the Barajas airport (151,594 or 93% ofthe total seized in 2000) is a sign of its role as a distribution point not only forother Spanish areas but also the United States and Latin America. The use ofcouriers to transport ecstasy pills has spectacularly increased while seizures ofMDMA and its derivatives in Spanish airports increased 1,524.39% from 1999 to2000 (MIR, 2000). Couriers are usually young men between 20 and 28 years-oldwho usually earn 3,000€ per trip. The press reports many examples of the type ofcases found in Barajas. One of them was the arrest in May 2002 of a Dominicancitizen coming from Amsterdam, trying to bring 50,800 pills into Spain (ElMundo, 26 May 2002).

Tab. 8 - MDMA pills seized in airports

MDMA and similar 2000

Madrid 151,594

Balearic Islands 4,316

Barcelona 2,800

Granada 2,700

Las Palmas 770

Tenerife 195

TOTAL 162,375

Source: MIR, 2000.

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b) Mid-level. These buy between 100 and 500 pills. They are a bit older than low-level dealers, i.e. 25 to 30. They often have regular customers and sell where thedrug is consumed or nearby. Some of them have “fixed places” close to dancesettings such as parking lots. Some of these dealers combine this activity with aregular job in some cases related to the dance context (guards, waiters, DJs,etc.). Some of them evolve in time to a higher level of trafficking.

They may make their living off ecstasy sales for a period of time, for example toearn money to buy a car. They usually spend their business profits not only onparties but also a car. Some are young people who belong to the upper classesand are very involved in the night time environment.

c) Established level. These dealers sell more than 500 pills and have a bigger andmore diversified clientele. Some may belong to organised networks. This is theonly or main activity for most of those involved at this level.

The ecstasy market in Barcelona is presently very fragmented. At the retail level,low and mid-level dealers only know the person selling to them who could be justone level above them (maybe selling around 1,000 pills). In some cases, peopleinvolved in levels b and c either buy the substances from organised networks orwork for them. They satisfy the demand by using different strategies which mayvary depending on the level of control existing inside the dance venues (e.g. privatesecurity employed by the owner) or police pressure.

Many low-level retailers always stay at this level while some move up to the mid-level. Moving up, or attempting to move up, from low to mid-level is easy since thetwo markets are very close and it is an attractive economic activity. This is precise-ly one of the reasons law enforcement officials give to explain the fragmentation ofthe market: “It is just a matter of going directly to Amsterdam and buying the mer-chandise. Thus, profits increase,” referring to the ease in obtaining direct contactand maximum profits. Even so, top-level distributors try to keep retailers awayfrom any information on producers in order to prevent competition.

There is a higher level of professionalism at the distribution level though fragmen-tation seems to be characteristic here as well. As mentioned earlier, sometimesthey may be just free lancers who travel to the Netherlands in order to buy directfrom producers, to then distribute their product in Barcelona (El País, 24 December2002). In other cases they have contacts with wholesale distributors and just dis-tribute pills to retailers, sometimes along with other drugs (El Mundo, 5 January2002).

The following excerpt from an interview with a police source describes the simplest(and most frequent) distribution chain for synthetic drugs in Barcelona:

“A Dutch courier, or the importer directly, brings the pills from Holland by car or busand delivers them to the buyer who is, at the same time, the person responsible for

pills by highway toward Levante and Madrid. According to the police, the city ofBarcelona is not a stable distribution point since there are no well-structured net-works in this area. Unless the destination point for the drug is Barcelona, the couri-er stops at any service area along the highway and then gives the pills to other deal-ers operating in various cities. Therefore, pills coming from abroad to be consumedin Spain are detoured toward other places before arriving in Barcelona. Only syn-thetic drugs earmarked for local consumption arrive in the city.

Standard mail is also used although to a smaller extent (see table 7). According tothe Customs Service, the fact that there is little control of intra-European Unionprivate mail in Spain has facilitated the use of standard mail for delivering pills.

3.4. Distribution and marketing chains

From data collected at the Monitoring Centre (Díaz, Pallarés and Barruti, 1999;2000 and 2001) and results of the fieldwork and interviews carried out in 2002,Barcelona’s ecstasy retail market would appear composed of three levels:

a) Low level. People buying small quantities (less than 100 pills).

These dealers do not earn a living selling pills. Many low-level retailers getinvolved in the synthetic drug market to furnish a supply for themselves andtheir friends. In many cases they buy from the same supplier and some maywork on credit. Due to their lack or resources, they never buy large quantities.They buy on average around 40-50 pills to sell on the weekend or during a rave.

Sometimes a group of retailers together may buy 100 pills. Pooling theirresources allows them better prices and they can use part of what they buy forpersonal consumption. They sell at dance clubs or raves. Group membership isimportant at this market level. Some of these networks are very small, from 10to 12 people, and can easily break up if there are consumption problems amongtheir members or if police catch some of them.

Those retailers operating in discos or the leisure industry smuggle some of theirpills into the premises hidden on their body and leave the rest in the car or anyclose, safe place. If there is a testing stand on site, some will take their pills to betested as a marketing strategy to promote them.

Frequently, those who do not buy the pills from the same supplier will eitherconsume the pills before buying them in order to test their quality, or ask for thesame logo they bought before.

The number of low-level retailers varies since many retailers only sell pills whenthey need money for their expenses (drug consumption, clothes, party expens-es, some to buy motor scooters).

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of pills to distribute on the local market, either to other retailers or by themselvesin the night time leisure context.

According to police sources, the characteristics of ecstasy distribution at thewholesale level in Barcelona are as follows:

- The distributor delivers pills to various retailers using his/her personal contacts.These distribution networks could not accurately be called very organised,although they display very complex branches that end in many different retailers.

- Distribution and sale are left unstructured so as to avoid visibility and, conse-quently, police control.

- Links among those involved in the distribution chain show a very dynamic char-acter.

- Each urban area has a distributor (who tries to remain the only one) althoughfrom time to time sporadic sellers may also appear.

- The specialisation factor is relative. Although there are a few specialised sellers,usually those who sell and/or distribute ecstasy at the wholesale level also dealother types of drugs.

3.6. Social background of the people involved

Until the early 1990s, most retailers operating in Barcelona belonged to the dancecontext and either bought the substances abroad, mainly in The Netherlands, tobring back to Barcelona, or from acquaintances who had done the same. They werenot involved in the street drug market, which dealt mainly in heroin, cannabis andcocaine. The market structure was based on the users themselves who extendedtheir network by giving away or selling some of the pills they had for their own con-sumption. Membership was necessary in the “techno” and “dance” scene to accessthis market. These dealers suffered less police pressure than those selling othersubstances did, since the use and sale of this drug were done in private, closed andhomogeneous environments.

User/retailers presently maintain the same characteristics described earlier withfew changes. They are very young, sometimes teenagers, and start selling for mainreasons that are not only economic (although they pay part of their consumptionand other “party” expenses with profits from sales) but also social, to increase theirprestige and influence among their friends or take care of the group’s needs.

High percentages of those using ecstasy either sell it or have sold it at some time. Thisfact is related to the high pressure young people feel to go out and consume in thedance scene (certain types of clothes, cars, motorbikes, drugs, etc.). The main prob-lem for these user/retailers is that in many cases they end up using more pills thanthey wanted to use and occasionally have problems related to their increase in con-sumption. In some cases, this may be one reason small retailers continue selling, toextend their circle of customers and/or move up to higher levels.

distributing them in the area. At this level, there is merely a client/supplier relation-ship with the producer. It is neither a network nor an organisation. The Dutch do notwant to maintain structures. They are only interested in moving large quantities ofpills. This is why the price of pills at this level is very low (for example, 0.30€ each).The “first buyer”, who distributes large quantities of pills, also sells them cheap (forexample, 1.30€). Local laboratories begin to appear at this stage; established by peo-ple who want to expand their profit margin. In this case, not only does the profitmargin increase since they sell at higher prices (for example up to 9€ each) but theyalso assume more risk. At this level we find young people connected with the leisureenvironment who have risen from the lower to the upper sales levels.”

As we have seen in a concrete case (the Tuito organisation), a big international traf-ficking network was operating in Barcelona at the wholesale distribution level. Inthis concrete case, and taking into account information from the press that wecould not contrast with our sources, the main task of local people involved in thisgroup was to find young people who could work as couriers.

3.5 Distribution styles and organisational structures

Due to its complexity and fragmentation, it is very difficult even for police to drawa precise picture of the structure of Barcelona’s synthetic drug market. It seems theorganisation level is much looser than that characterising other drug markets.

According to institutional sources, one of the reasons for this weakly-structured mar-ket is that it has no single, specifically located production source. Ecstasy is easy toproduce and can be easily put on the market. Furthermore, the drug follows less-controlled distribution paths (like the internal borders of the European Union) andis frequently transported in small quantities that are easy to carry and via methods,like private vehicles or mail services, more difficult to check by security forces.

The ecstasy market in Barcelona is composed of different people performing vari-ous roles:

- User/retailers. They sell their substances to their group of acquaintances andsome work more openly in dance contexts.

- Retailers. In some cases, after being successful with sales, they extend their busi-ness and employ their own dealers. This strategy is encouraged by the fact thatgoing out at night is very expensive and some young people pay for their “party-ing” by selling ecstasy. As seen in section 5.4, they may belong to the low level(some of them user/retailers also called trapicheros), mid-level or stabilised levelof the retail market.

- Mid-level dealers. They distribute the substance to retailers. - Couriers. Those who make sporadic trips, transport pills and receive a fixed sum

of money for each trip.- Importers. People who travel to the Netherlands and bring back small quantities

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Since 1997, with the consolidation, increase and diversification of synthetic drugsupply and demand, another type of distributor has appeared; more professionaland interested in the commercial side of the business. Some have criminal recordsand/or experience in other drug markets, as seen in section 5.2.

3.7. Market competition or cooperation

A certain competition takes place at the retail level. It is difficult for a retailer tointroduce him or herself in a concrete context that is unknown to them, since otherretailers may pressure them to stop selling. However, this pressure decreases as thehour gets later or if there is a shortage of the product.

At the wholesale level, those networks working with substances other than ecstasy,that have now begun to distribute synthetic drugs, maintain a certain degree ofcompetition among themselves. However, the market is fairly predictable (in fol-lowing demand peaks) and competition is never accompanied by manifestationsof violence. But the fact that anonymous telephone calls to the police from inform-ers are common shows competition exists among groups or networks involved inthe ecstasy business.

3.8. Methods of payment

Payment is usually made in advance, before getting the merchandise, and in cash.Some low-level retailers, the youngest ones who sell pills to supply their personaluse and other “party” expenses, buy pills on credit, something unusual in other ille-gal markets. They may occasionally have problems paying back the purchase eitherbecause they used more pills than they had planned or gave some to their friends.

3.9. Estimate of profits and quantities purchased

In Barcelona, a retailer who buys less than 300 pills can earn between 3 and 15€ perpill, depending on whether they operate in discos, raves, with known people or for-eigners, at the beginning or at the end of the night, etc. However, they earn an aver-age profit of around 3€ per pill. Profits rise with MDMA powder: one of our respon-dents buys it at 72€ per gram, makes around 7-8 capsules per gram and sells themat 12-15€ each, yielding a profit of 12 to 48€ per gram.

But, due to market characteristics, and the selling methods adopted by dealers(irregular, selling only occasionally and on weekends, etc.), the sum earned permonth is very difficult to calculate.

A teenagers who sells pills to meet party expenses and only buys 10 pills and sells5, makes no profit. He/she may pay 30€ for the pills (if bought at 3€ each and sold

The rest of low-level retailers are also very young, between 16 and 20 years-old.They are usually younger than those who sell other illegal substances and mosthave no criminal or penal records. These retailers sell only synthetic drugs andhave no contacts with wholesale distributors. The youngest (16 to 17 years-old) sellpills in order to pay for their own consumption and other “party” expenses. Theysell sporadically, only when they need money or there is a special event, and usu-ally sell small quantities. In 2002, the number of youngsters selling small quantitiesof pills increased and their age decreased (teenagers, 14 to 15 years-old).

Some retailers interviewed during fieldwork described their problems with incomefrom their activity. Since they usually have no stable job, it is difficult for them tojustify the money they spend. They can neither save it nor invest it since they can-not justify its source. So they have to spend the money quickly and discreetly. Someof those retailers who displayed a high standard of living have swapped their fastflashy car for a more modest one.

The ecstasy retail market in Barcelona has had a major presence of low to middleclass young people since its origins. Some of these low and middle class retailerscome from and operate in working class neighbourhoods. But there is a growingparticipation of young people from the upper classes. These two types of low-level retailers represent the two extremes of the social chain involved in ecstasydealing. On the one hand, there are those from working class neighbourhoods inthe outlying areas, called by pejorative terms and with bad reputations amongyoung people. On the other hand, the past two years have also seen upper ormiddle class retailers in their twenties, non-problematic young people identifiedas very sociable with good reputations among their peers and familiar with thedance scene. They sell pills in leisure and party environments; sometimes theyalso sell pills near their old secondary schools (on Thursdays or Fridays). Theydeal either to gain prestige among their group, since it is a risky activity, or tohave more money to spend partying.

Two types of retailers, usually with a low level of education, can be found in the out-lying neighbourhoods: those who sell higher quantities (usually 3 or 4 in a neigh-bourhood), buy big cars with their profits and lead expensive lifestyles. They“cover” the whole neighbourhood and sell large quantities, especially of cocaineand cannabis. The second type of retailers sell to more restricted circles and usetheir income to pay party expenses. They begin selling when still very young, usu-ally in the discos they frequent. For them dealing may be an alternative to thelabour market since job perspectives are quite low.

The type of people involved in the ecstasy business varies more at the distributionlevel. As seen earlier, those distributors connected to national networks based on con-tacts among people linked to the dance context usually have a middle educationallevel, good social relations and a tendency to flaunt their wealth. Foreigners living inSpain who distribute synthetic drugs are described as having a high level of education,the ability to speak various languages, distrustful and avoiding showing their wealth.

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seizures increases when the number of arrests are higher, i.e. with more organisednetworks seeking to increase profits by trafficking pills (see table 10 and graphic 1).

at 6€ each) and may earn another other 30€: the profit he/she makes is lost inkeeping the remaining 5 pills.

Some mid-level retailers can sell around 150-300 pills a weekend, mostly to regularcustomers. They have difficulties gaining access to bigger quantities of pills. Theysell between 2-5 pills per person; in two or three hours they can sell around 80 pills.If we take into account estimated profits of 3€ per pill, this means they can earnaround 240€ in those 2-3 hours of intense work and 450-900€ per weekend.

As we have seen, they may also sell other drugs but deal in ecstasy to diversify theiroffer. One of our respondents buys a 25-gram piece of hashish for 50€ and sells itfor 80€. Another respondent who sells predominantly cocaine can earn 1,000€ atone rave. Cocaine dealers who also sell ecstasy usually say they prefer to sellcocaine since profits are higher than with ecstasy.

Sales at raves are subject to bigger fluctuations making it is even more difficult tocalculate how much money an ecstasy retailer can earn working during a rave.Some low level retailers who sell at raves and concerts, where sales prices are high-er, can sell between 20-40 pills a rave, bought at 3€ each and sold at 7€ each. Thiswould mean a profit of 100-200€ per rave. But a higher-level dealer can earn5,000€ for four days work at a rave, selling ecstasy, cocaine and speed.

3.10. Overlap with other illegal activities/criminal markets

The diversification of the ecstasy market in Barcelona, along with the fact that pillsare sometimes transported and sold together with other drugs, shows the overlapbetween the different drug markets.

There are different expressions of this overlap. Sometimes it merely comes frompersonal relations among dealers specialised in different substances. For example,some mid-level cocaine dealers also sell ecstasy since they have personal contactsor even friendly relationships with retailers operating at the same level in Holland.

Other times the overlap existing between different drug markets is connected withthe development of higher levels of “organisation” in the Barcelona ecstasy market.As seen above, some distributors operating in more traditional drug markets(hashish, cocaine, etc.) now offer a wider variety of substances. For example,Moroccan entrepreneurs exporting hashish to Holland through Spain take advan-tage of the return journey and import synthetic drugs to be distributed in Spain,making the return trip profitable. The existence of frequently mixed loads (ecstasy together with other drugs) seized bypolice shows a certain degree of cooperation among different importers. Accordingto customs officers interviewed, the loads in which synthetic drugs appear are usual-ly made up mostly of other drugs (hashish, cocaine, etc.). The mixed character of

3.11. Overlap with specific legal activities

There is some overlap between dance context activities and the ecstasy market. Asconfirmed in our fieldwork, a number of retailers work in the dance scene andsome foreign distributors run or work in leisure activities.

One of the reasons for this overlap is related to the relative safety of the dance set-ting. It is very difficult for the police to act against leisure establishments suspect-ed of being involved in the drug market since they would have to prove there wastolerance toward drug use inside the locale by the owner or employees. On theother hand, police interventions inside discos or other places can be very difficultdue to the high number of people involved, lack of resources, etc. This is why manylaw enforcement operations are usually done outside these nightlife establish-ments (parks, for example).

Source: Our calculations based on data from OCNE (Jun. 2001-Sept. 2002).

Tab. 10 - Mixed seizures and number of arrests

Total seizures Mixed seizures % Mixed seizures

1 arrest 33 9 27.3

2 arrests 25 9 36

3 arrests 12 5 41.7

4 or 5 arrests 16 10 62.5

6 to 10 arrests 14 10 71.4

Total 100 43 43

Source: Our calculations based on data from OCNE (Jun. 2001-Sept. 2002).

Chart 1 - XTC seizures and mixed seizures

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drugs must be considered substances that cause serious damage to individualhealth, together with heroin, cocaine, LSD, crack cocaine, morphine and so on.

Synthetic drug trafficking may be punished by 3 to 9 years imprisonment, as wellas a fine three times higher than the value of the seized drugs. If there are aggra-vating circumstances, this penalty can rise to 9-13 years and six months imprison-ment, together with a fine four times higher than the value of the drug seized. Oneaggravating circumstance is related to the quantity of the drug seized. When thequantity confiscated exceeds 500 daily doses, it is considered an aggravating cir-cumstance. Doses – not to be confused with pills, tablets or capsules – are calcu-lated by taking into account only the active ingredient, i.e. the substance reducedto 100% purity. In the case of synthetic drugs this means 240 grams.

For those with a leading role in drug trafficking organisations,1 and in cases whereextremely serious behaviour has been observed, penalties run from 13 years 6months to 20 years 3 months imprisonment together with a fine six times higherthan the value of the seized drugs.

4.1.1. Chemical precursors in the criminal law

The Penal Code punishes the transport, distribution, trade or possession of pre-cursors since these substances are used to produce and manufacture drugs.2 But inpractice, there have been few cases related to precursors in the Spanish legal sys-tem. In this regard, a sentence from the Supreme Court dated 26 March 2001 states:

“The penal protection [related to the law] considers not only drugs already processedas an object of the crime but also those substances indicated as their precursors. Thepossession of drugs can be punished only when it is aimed at contributing to its dis-tribution (or promoting its sale). Similarly, the possession of precursors is punishableonly when the possessor is aware they will be illegally used for cultivating or pro-ducing drugs...”

In some cases, possession of precursors has been punished under the category ofdrug production. For instance, in May 2001 the possession of base methamphet-amine and methamphetamine-sulphate was punished as behaviour related todifferent phases of the drug manufacturing process, and not as behaviour con-nected with the possession of precursors.3 In other sentences, the possession ofdrugs and precursors has been considered additional evidence of the intent totraffic drugs.

1 In practice, this agravating circumstance is applied only to the high-ranking traffickers. Medium-rank-ing dealers do not usually fall into this category. 2 Article 1.10 of the LO 12/1995 for the repression of smuggling defines precursors as “substances andproducts that can be used for cultivating, producing or creating toxic drugs, narcotics and psychotropicsubstances”. These “substances” refer to lysergic acid, ephedrine, acetone, ergometrine, sendoephrineand so on.3 Sentence from the Audiencia Provincial of Girona of 7 May 2001.

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Until 2002, synthetic drugs were not a high priority on the agenda of law enforce-ment agencies operating in Catalonia. But the deaths of several youngsters at thattime who had consumed synthetic drugs (two of them in Barcelona), and the sub-sequent social alarm raised by the press and media, led to an increase in institu-tional attention and concern regarding the phenomenon and an increase in policechecks and controls within the dance context.

In June 2002, the Catalonian Parliament tabled a motion to the Catalan govern-ment requesting an increase in preventive police controls in areas with a highnumber of discos, bars and clubs, and intensification of cooperation with the localpolice. Furthermore, at the end of 2002 the governmental delegation in Cataloniacoordinated the first systematisation of data on the synthetic drug phenomenon.

4.1. Synthetic drugs in criminal law

A number of criminal and administrative laws regulate consumption and traffick-ing of illegal drugs in Spain. The Spanish Penal Code (CP, in Spanish) – revised byLaw 10/1995 – regulates penalties assigned to drug and chemical precursor traf-ficking as crimes against public health. LO 12/1995 for the repression of smugglingconsiders the entry of drugs into the national territory as a crime. The Penal Codepunishes behaviour related to: drug cultivation, production and trafficking; thepromotion, aiding and abetting or facilitation of drug consumption; and the pos-session of drugs for trafficking purposes.

Drug consumption is not punished by the Penal Code although it can be consid-ered an administrative offence. Nevertheless, the Penal Code considers as a crimeany conduct that may facilitate (non-authorised) drug consumption. Penalties aremore severe in the case of drugs that “cause serious damage to health” than thosethat “cause no serious damage”. Jurisprudence unanimously agrees all synthetic

4 Law Enforcement Activity

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the accused has not been shown to be a drug addict.” (STS of 12 September 2002);- Possession of small quantities of synthetic drugs, together with other drugs, when

the person has previously been proven to sell drugs (STS of 15 July 2002);- Possession of 48 capsules of ecstasy, hidden under the mat of a car on the driver

side, along with 10,900 grams of hashish.

4.1.3. Shared consumption

Due to the high number of cases related to drug trafficking in the last few years, thelegal system has suppressed penal sanctions for those cases that create no risks forprotected legal well-being. The most important example in this regard is the caseof so-called shared consumption which is comparable to drug use and not punish-able under criminal law.

This concept refers to a person who generally purchases a certain quantity of drugsearmarked for consumption by a group of people, frequently during parties orother events. In order to be considered shared consumption, persons who cometogether to purchase the drug must be addicted; consumption must take place ina closed setting; and the quantity of drugs used must be insignificant and con-sumed immediately. Some sentences also require consumption be carried out inthe presence of the buyer (to avoid further indiscriminate spread of consumption),while others insist the person purchasing the drug have no profit motive.4

In some cases, courts consider the doctrine of shared consumption inapplicable:when consumption is neither immediate nor insignificant5 or when different sub-stances were held; MDA, MDMA, Prozac and so on. (This fact enables the tribunalto state that that indiscriminate consumption could be facilitated for those presentat a party.)6 The courts point out that sometimes there is the tendency to claimshared consumption while in reality the behaviour may be punishable as acting asan intermediate in a purchase.7

In any case, it is the responsibility of the accused to prove the drug seized wasintended to be shared by a group of persons who must be identified in court andwhose addiction must be proven.

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The national strategy against drugs was approved in 1999 for the period from 2000to 2008. One of the objectives of this strategy was to “pass more thorough legislationon the control of precursors, reinforce both administrative control measures and theestablishment of a police network to control the production of such substances andtheir destination”.

4.1.2. Consumption and possession (aimed at the use) of synthetic drugs

Use/possession of any drug in public or private is a matter of administrative law inSpain. Consumption or possession of drugs in private is not a criminal offence.However, Law 1/1992 for the Protection of Citizen Security punishes consumptionin public places, streets, premises and transports with an administrative sanction(a fine from 301 to 30,051€) and confiscation of the drugs. The same administra-tive sanction may also be applied to the possession of drugs, provided this does notconstitute a penal infraction.

At the same time, penal law differentiates between the possession of drugs for self-consumption and possession for trafficking purposes. Spanish Courts use a list todetermine whether the possession was intended for trafficking or not:

- If the quantity seized exceeds the normal dose for consumption in 3 to 5 days(exceptionally extended to 10 days);

- If the confiscated substance is very pure (meaning the drug is intended for salesince not usually consumed at such a high degree of purity);

- If the person possessing the drug is not a drug user;- If the substance is found in a place devoted to drug sales;- If precision balances or other instruments for manipulating the drugs (such as

substances to cut or adulterate the drug) are also seized;- If cash is found not corresponding to declared levels of income.

In the specific case of synthetic drugs, the following cases are examples of argu-ments used to assert the existence of intent to traffic drugs:

- Possession of 170 pills of MDMA together with a considerable amount of moneyfound during a police operation at 1.30 a.m., (Supreme Court sentence of 14February 2002);

- Possession of a quantity of MDMA large enough to be used by 20 people during aparty, with a market value of approximately 600,000 pesetas, an amount of moneythat seemed unrelated to the income of the offenders;

- Possession of 22 pills of MDMA at the door of a disco along with a bag containing4.62 grams of amphetamines, stating that “the quantity and its subsequent price(56,300 pesetas) exceeded what is generally considered as a quantity needed by aperson using drugs during a short or medium period of time. Moreover, the drugsseized have different characteristics, and this circumstance can hardly be com-bined with the end purpose of being consumed by a single person. But, above all,the fact that prevented us from considering the purpose of self-consumption is that

4 For instance, the Sentence of the Provincial Law Court of Madrid of 7 June 2001, acquitted a person whohad purchased 19 ecstasy -pills, 413 milligrams of ketamine and 5,027 milligrams of a substance consist-ing of amphetamine and caffeine for the consumption within by a group of six persons, and collected30,000 pesetas for this. Similarly, the Sentence of the Law Court in Huesca of 26 March 2001 acquitted aperson who had been found with 40 capsules of ecstasy, purchased for the consumption by a group of sixpersons. 5Judgement of the Audiencia Provinciales of Girona of 18 February 2000 and of La Coruna of the 13 April1999. 6 Sentence of the Provincial Law Court of Baleares 15 June 1998.7 This was the case of the Sentence of the Provincial Law Court of Tarragona 9 November 2000, that pun-ished a man who had purchased 69 pills of ecstasy to make them available for assistants at a party whothen had to pay for such consumption.

b) Autonomous police.8 Since 1994 the Police of the Generalitat-Mossos d'Esquadrahave been gradually deployed gradually across the territory and have assumedintegral security functions. However, state security forces still maintain somefunctions in territories where Mossos d'Esquadra operates: the Civil Guardpatrols ports, airports, coasts, borders and customs; national police maintainjurisdiction over the investigation of drug trafficking operations committed out-side the territory of Catalonia by criminal networks or organised groups.

The deployment process is not yet finished. Currently, the Mossos d'Esquadraoperate in the provinces of Girona, Lleida and some zones in the metropolitanarea of Barcelona (Manresa, Granollers, Mollet of the Vallès, Badalona, etc.).However, they have no jurisdiction over the cities of Barcelona and Tarragona.

c) Local Police. Around 200 local police forces are found in Catalonia alone;among their functions is supporting other police forces in penal and publicorder issues. The Barcelona Urban Guard intervenes with leisure time estab-lishments and controls drug consumption.

Information is exchanged between the various police forces through the Inter-police Coordination Office of Catalonia (Sala de Coordinación Interpolicial deCataluña) though this does not necessarily imply the coordination of investiga-tions. Some of the obstacles in the collaboration or coordination between differentinstitutions are related to their different interests: they are in competition amongthemselves and distrust information exchanges because of perceived infiltrationthat may obstruct ongoing investigations.

4.2.2. Judicial organisations

The following courts are distinguished based on their various jurisdictions in pros-ecuting drug trafficking-related crimes and their territorial reach:

a) Courts with jurisdiction over the whole national territory: the Supreme Courtand National Law Court;

b) Courts with jurisdiction over the autonomous regions: Upper Courts of Justiceof the Autonomous Regions;

c) Courts with jurisdiction over the provinces: Provincial Law Courts;d) Courts with jurisdiction over the judicial parties: Courts of First Claim and

Instruction, Penal Courts, Industrial Tribunal, and Litigation andAdministrative Court.

4.2.3. Prosecutor's office

In 1988, the Special Public Prosecutor’s office for the Prevention and Control of

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4.2. Security forces operating in Catalonia

Several police forces with concurrent responsibilities operate in Spain. They havesimilar areas of activity or work in the same territory. This is especially obvious inthe Catalan context where the autonomous police force gradually assumes integralsecurity responsibilities over the whole community. Four different police bodiescurrently act and coexist in the same territory simultaneously (National Police,Civil Guard, local autonomous police and local police). All these agencies havesome responsibilities related to the control of synthetic drug distribution and traf-fic. At the same time, the Spanish judicial system also has diverse territorial levelsof activity in the field of public-health-related crimes.

This situation requires information be successfully obtained from all examplesconsidered in order to construct a complete image of institutional performancerelated to drug trafficking. The overview below of the various police forces operat-ing in Catalonia may be useful in adequately evaluating the quality of informationobtained from different institutional sources and understanding the problems ofcoordination existing among Spanish law enforcement agencies.

4.2.1. Police agencies operating in Barcelona

a) Forces operating at the national level:

- The National Police Force (Cuerpo Nacional de Policía) has jurisdiction inurban areas (provincial capitals and urban centres). It has exclusive jurisdic-tion over international police cooperation and the investigation and prose-cution of drug-related crimes. Principal tasks of the National Police inBarcelona are the investigation of drug trafficking at the local level and pros-ecution of criminal organisations. Activities aimed at controlling drug sup-ply and organised crime are carried out by the Drug and Organised CrimeUnit (UDYCO). Since 1997, they have had a specialised unit dealing withsynthetic drugs and precursors.

- The Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) is the police force responsible for patrollingrural, coastal and border areas and roads. They also have exclusive jurisdic-tion over tax-related and smuggling crimes (including drug smuggling).Their anti-drug operations are carried out at a transnational level and usu-ally consist of large-scale seizures. They have an anti-drug unit that belongsto the judicial police.

- The Customs Surveillance Service (Servicio de Vigilancia Aduanera) is partof the Ministry of Finance and responsible for persecuting administrativeand penal smuggling crimes (including drug smuggling). The CustomsSurveillance Service has an executive centre in Barcelona and investigatessmuggling in the city and the rest of Catalonia.

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8 There are currently three autonomous police corps in Spain: the Ertzaintza in the Basque Country, thePolicía Foral in Navarra and the police of the Generalitat-Mossos d'Esquadra in Catalonia.

4.4. Changes in dealing places and practices due to law enforcement activity

Law enforcement activity has very little impact on the main dealing sites for syn-thetic drugs: i.e. dance settings. The main reason, as already suggested, is related tothe difficulty in proving there was drug distribution inside these settings and otherorganisational problems.

These limitations have led to the location of synthetics drug controls outside thepremises and concentrating activity on demand control with no homogeneous lawenforcement criteria and a tendency to carry out punctual and focused actions.The most illustrative example of these activities is the implementation of opera-tions called “quiet Saturdays”: massive police action (usually by the urban andautonomous police) in leisure activity areas to control the use of alcohol and otherdrugs.

The social alarm caused in 2002 by the media coverage of ecstasy-related deathsproduced an increase in law enforcement activities outside dance venues and a vis-ible increase in the control by private security or disco employees of drug sales andconsumption inside the discos. One of the effects produced by the increase of secu-rity checks inside discos was the increase in the number of girls selling pills insidethese places since most of the security guards are men. Some discotheques havestarted to employ female security guards to frisk female dealers.

Other specific strategies adopted by retailers in order to avoid police controls andsecurity checks are:

- carrying small quantities of pills in order to be able to show, if intercepted, theywere earmarked for personal use;

- contacting the customer directly (by phone or brief personal contact) and deliv-ering the drug in a safer place;

- using intermediaries who offer the drugs, especially to tourists, and immediatelyafterward put them in contact with the retailer.

4.4.1. Law enforcement activities expressly targeting raves

The latest police activities at raves have created great conflicts (with shots fired,intervention of helicopters, etc.). As already seen in the case of discos and othernight time leisure places, there are also legal restrictions during raves that makelaw enforcement action very difficult. According to police, it is very difficult to actin this environment if the owner of the land or building has reported nothing to thepolice or there are no complaints from people living in the area. Because of this,though police commonly assign resources to investigate these events, they do notintervene.

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Illegal Drug Trafficking began to operate under the direction of the state prosecut-ing attorney’s unit. This office is represented in the Upper Court of Justice ofCatalonia. A public prosecutor in charge of drug trafficking prosecution is presentin each Provincial Law Court. Such prosecutors coordinate the activities of the var-ious security forces, unify criteria and solve jurisdictional conflicts between policeforces.

4.2.4. Laboratories

Drugs seized in Catalonia are analysed by two laboratories:

a) The Mossos d' Esquadra has a laboratory where all samples are analysed seizedby the autonomous police force along with several local police forces and thosesubmitted by some judges and courts.

b) The Institute of Toxicology of the Ministry of Justice has a section in Barcelonain charge of analysing samples sent by other police forces and those samplesnot sent to the laboratory of the Mossos d’Esquadra.

4.3. The impact of law enforcement activity on the synthetic drug market

The institutional representative interviewed acknowledged that law enforcementactivity “may have some effect in changing drug distribution patterns, may changethe areas or premises where this activity is focused, but it does not affect consump-tion patterns at all. Changes at this level would be more influenced by news on ecsta-sy-related deaths” than by law enforcement activity. Nevertheless, there are someindications of a certain decrease, though not a very substantial one, in street drugssales due to the intensification of law enforcement activities in public squares andcar parks near discos.9

Law enforcement activity has at times had indirect effects more harmful than thedanger they are attempting to fight. According to a person interviewed employedat the institutional level, “Sometimes conflicts occur between police interventionsagainst the ecstasy market and other aspects of public safety. Here is a concrete exam-ple. Buses with young people were leaving from the Plaza de España in Barcelona fordiscotheques in Girona. A couple of interventions were carried out; coaches werestopped and searched and pills seized. The curious thing is that families complainedas a consequence of these activities since these controls led young people to insteadtravel by private cars which turned out to be more dangerous. As a consequence,police interventions are now done in car parks.” This fact led the Monitoring Centreon New Drugs Consumption Among Youth in Catalonia (Díaz, Pallarés and Barruti,2001) to recommend avoiding police controls that would favour the use of privatevehicles, due to the risk of an increase in road accidents.

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9 Information from respondents related to the retail market.

In 1997, the cycle begins the phase of exhaustion and routine that continuesthough 1998. The press was more interested in new drugs that were emerging onthe market (cat, ketamine, GHB) than in old-fashioned ecstasy.

In 2000, news on police operations increased and the press began mentioninginternational organised networks trafficking ecstasy (and other substances) inSpain (and Barcelona). A wave of articles appeared on young people who workedas drug couriers.

According to the government representative from the national drug control agency(Plan Nacional sobre Drogas), Gonzalo Robles, in the first six months of 2002,police seized 906,000 pills, much more than the quantity seized the year before(Estrella Digital, 12 July 2002). This figure also coincides with the already men-tioned broad media coverage on the phenomenon after the death of several youngpeople and subsequent social alarm. The chart below shows the increase in ecsta-sy seizures during major police operations in March and May 2002,10 months whenthe first deaths took place and the media wave hit two peaks. Other peaks inseizures during December 2001 and July 2002 could be related to different policeoperations aimed at controlling the increase in consumption and sale of syntheticdrugs due to Christmas and the summer holidays.

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4.5. Data on synthetic drug seizures and major police operations over the past few years

The chart below shows data on synthetic drugs seized in Spain since 1986 pub-lished by the Ministry of Domestic Affairs under the category of “MDMA and oth-ers”. It should be emphasised that police sources providing this data to the Ministryput the reliability of this data into perspective. We report it because it represents auseful indicator of institutional action against synthetic drugs.

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According to official data, MDMA quantities seized fluctuated over the last decade.The highest number of pills was confiscated in 1995 (739,511 units) and 2000(891,562 units) while 1992 (45,352 units), 1997 (184,950 units) and 1998 (194,527units) experienced the lowest rates of pills seized. These figures coincide with fluc-tuations in the appearance of the phenomenon in the media (Gamella and Alvarez,1999):

The phase of vulgarisation and massive consumption began in 1992. The pressseemed uninterested in reporting this phenomenon while a process of increasingpopularisation was occurring that would reach its peak in 1995. The first few arti-cles on ecstasy-related deaths appeared but had few repercussions on the socialdebate.

In 1995, the debate on the ecstasy phenomenon in the media reached a peak ofpolarisation. The drug was shown as a social problem and ecstasy-related deathswere profusely echoed in the press.

Source: Our calculations based on data from MIR (1999, 2000).

Source: Our calculations based on data from MIR (1999, 2000).

Chart 2 - XTC seized in Spain

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Chart 3 - Temporal evolution of XTC seizures

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10 Data gathered in Chart 3 has been extrapolated from the bi-weekly bulletins from the National CentralOffice on Narcotic Drugs; this data is not precise since it reflects the major (but not all) police operationscarried out by the National Police, the Civil Guard, Customs Surveillance Service and the autonomouspolice.

quantities of MDMA seized. In table 12, we see the importance of Catalonia overthe rest of the autonomous communities based on percentage of seizures.

Tab. 11 - % of MDMA seized by provincial police headquarters

POLICE HEADQUARTERS 1994 1995 1996Barcelona 56.04 55.89 39.99Valencia 31.13 30.6 14.03Palma Mallorca 3.34 5.64 6.32Madrid 2.66 4.61 15.9Sevilla 2.08 1.07 1.41Granada 3.9 0.76 15.89

Source: Our calculation based on data from DGP, 1995; 1996

Tab. 12 - Autonomous Communities with the highest % of seized ecstasy in 1997, 1999 and2000.

AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY 1997 1999 2000Catalonia 5.81 5.6 41.58Madrid 61.62 22.06 21.96Valencia 12.82 51.94 13.94Andalusia 6.38 1.34 7.91Balearic Islands 5.77 7.85 7.48Canary Islands 2.46 0.57 1.03

Source: Our calculation based on data from DGP, 1997; 1999; 2000

4.5.3. The role of Barcelona

Compared to other Catalan provinces, Barcelona province stands out in relation tothe total number of pills seized in the autonomous community. This ranged from40% to 94% of the total seized in the community (see table 13).

Tab. 13 - MDMA seized in Barcelona province

POLICE HEADQUARTERS 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999* 2000National Police 103,470 189,714 120,812 3,470 * 10,569 138,472Civil Guard 6,639 3,519 7,991 1,089 * 1,956 11,792Customs - / - -- -- * 0 --Mossos d'Esquadra * * * * * * 5TOTAL 110,109 193,233 128,803 4,559 38,711 12,525 150,269% in Catalonia 64.11 46.83 94.84 42.44 * 62.52 40.54% National 35.92 26.18 37.83 2.46 * 3.5 16.85

Source: Our calculations based on data from DGP, series 1994-2000. (*) Data not available.

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4.5.1. Quantities seized during police operations

Chart 4 shows the quantities of pills seized during police operations. According tothese figures, the number of pills seized in most operations fluctuated between1,000 and 15,000 pills, quantities related more to low and mid-level distributionthan big trafficking.

152

Chart 4 - Quantity of XTC seized (in pills)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Source: Our calculations based on data from OCNE (Jun.‘01-Sept.‘02)

4.5.2. The role of Catalonia in the Spanish context

Catalonia seems to play an important role in the national synthetic drug marketalongside the autonomous communities of Madrid, Valencia, Balearic andAndalusia. Catalonia was the community with the highest percentage of pillsseized in 1994, 1995 and 1996. Table 11 shows the percentage of MDMA seized byprovincial police headquarters: Barcelona has the highest percentage.

According to these figures, Catalonia has played a major role since the beginning ofthe ecstasy popularisation phase. Seizures carried out in Catalonia in 1996 repre-sented almost 40% of the substances seized at the national level (see table 11) andtotal MDMA seized during police operations in 2000 represented almost 42% of thetotal seized in Spain (see table 12). That year, 370,698 units were seized in Catalonia(DGP, 2000) out of a total of 891,562 units seized in Spain (MIR, 2000). Between1997 and 2000, Catalonia went from fourth to the first autonomous community in

Tab. 14 - Nationality of those arrested

Nationality 1999 2000

Spain 155 374

Morocco 14 28

United Kingdom 10 22

Netherlands 4 15

Germany 3 -

Portugal 3 -

Belgium - 12

Nigeria - 7

Italy - 5

France - 4

Other nationalities 8 20

TOTAL 197 487

Source: Our calculations based on data from MIR, 1999; 2000

4.6.1. Profiles of those arrested according to nationality

a) Spanish nationality

Police sources consulted (National Police, Civil Guard and National Office ofNarcotic drugs) unanimously point out the predominant presence of Spaniardsamong those arrested for low and mid-level synthetic drug trafficking at thenational level (see tables 14 and 15).

In most police operations, the groups of people arrested are small (from 1 to 3 peo-ple) and composed of Spanish nationals. They are usually very young (between 20and 25). The second and third nationalities of those arrested at this level are Dutchand Moroccan respectively. These are small groups of young people who only, ormainly, sell ecstasy. They travel frequently to Holland or have contacts there to buythe drug.

However, there are also Spaniards among those arrested by police during opera-tions against larger groups (composed of 4 to 10 people). In these cases the age ofthose involved is more heterogeneous. Among the most numerous groups ofarrests is a significant number exclusively composed of Spaniards.

b) Moroccan nationality

Although ecstasy dealers are generally Spanish or European, people from Morocco,Algeria and Sub Saharan Africa have begun to operate in this market due to thedecline in sales of other drugs.

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Although statistics indicate Catalonia and Barcelona as important distributionpoints for synthetic drugs, the institutional interpretation of the role of Cataloniaand Barcelona in the national synthetic drug market tends to minimise this role.Their arguments are the following:

- Quantitative data presented by the different sources is not fully reliable due to thecalculation process of the statistics and their interpretation;

- The increase of seizures is considered to reflect more a growth in consumption inthe Barcelona area than the emergence of the city as a point of traffic and distri-bution. However, since 2000 regular ecstasy consumption has deadlocked, whileoccasional use has stabilised;

- Another factor that could affect the increase in pills seized is the increased policeactivity during periods of social alarm or media attention, as happened in 2002.

Taking into account the information available until now, it is difficult to assess theimportance of Catalonia in relation to the national synthetic drug market. The lackof reliability in statistics provided by institutional sources was verified during field-work. Some of the gaps and/or inconsistencies faced are listed below:

- Police data on MDMA seized does not specify the number of seizures or quantityof substances seized in each operation. (This data would allow better under-standing of fluctuations in figures from certain years and, consequently, themajor trends in the market);

- Until 2000, seizures done by the autonomous police were not added to officialstatistics, and information on operations carried out by other autonomous forceswas not included;

- Units used to measure seizures are not always the same (grams, units, doses);

- The same figures may refer both to MDMA and other types of substances that arenot correctly identified (categories are used such as “similar”, “other”, etc.).

Consequently, data on police seizures should be considered more as an indirectindicator of police controls on drug trafficking carried out in a specific year than asan indicator of synthetic drug market trends or drug trafficking patterns.

4.6. Data on drug dealers arrested

People arrested in Spain for ecstasy-related crimes, in most of the cases, haveSpanish nationality (76.8% of arrests, 374 people). The second nationality isMoroccan (5.75% of arrests, 28 people), followed by UK (4.5%, 22 arrests) andDutch citizens (3%, 15 arrests) (see table 14).

154

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II. Barcelona

Moroccans are a representative group in official statistics (see table 14), in theinformation on the latest police operations and institutional reports on groupstrafficking synthetic drugs. As said above, according to police sources Moroccansarrested usually export hashish to Holland and import ecstasy from the samecountry.

c) Other nationalities from the European Union

The Dutch are significant not only among the people arrested during syntheticdrug trafficking operations but also in institutional reports on the issue. Accordingto the National Office on Narcotic Drugs, the Dutch are usually arrested in opera-tions with only 1 or 2 people involved which indicates they mostly operate ascouriers who transport the substance. The presence of Dutch citizens decreases inpolice operations involving larger groups of people arrested.

According to the Ministry of Interior (see table 14), until 2000, the British were thethird major nationality arrested for ecstasy-related crimes. However, in the latestdata on police operations only two British citizens were arrested out of a total of100 people (see table 15). Other nationalities also appear in the statistics.

d) Mixed Groups

As mentioned above, most people arrested are Spanish. However, there are severalcases of mixed groups composed of people with different nationalities. In thesecases, the most frequent associations are between Spaniards and Moroccans,Spaniards and South Americans (especially Colombian) and Spaniards and Dutch.

4.6.2. Data on arrests in Catalonia and Barcelona

According to data from the autonomous police (see table 16), due to its location onthe border with France, Girona has the record of the highest number of ecstasy-related arrests. But the source of this data, the autonomous police, must be takeninto account. This police force is just one of five security forces operating inBarcelona at present. As the Mossos d’Esquadra is not yet deployed in Barcelonacity, the National Police and the Civil Guard are in charge of operations against bignational and international drug trafficking organisations. Therefore, their datashould be added to these figures in order to have a better picture of the situation.This data was not yet available. The table below provides an overview of the num-ber of people arrested for drug-related crimes, although the data is still provision-al and does not reflect the total number of arrests in Catalonia.

156

Virginia Montañes, is a journalist and social anthropologist specialising in infor-mation and southern countries, international politics and drugs control policies.She coordinates the Drugs, Conflict and Development Programme at the Madrid-based Institute for the Studies of Conflict and Humanitarian Action, and works asresearcher at the Transnational Institute Drugs and Democracy Programme(Amsterdam). Her latest publications include “Drugs and Drug Policies at the Rootsof Conflict”, in The Emotion and the Truth: Studies in Mass Communication andConflict (Universidad de Deusto, Bilbao, 2002); “Análisis de medios de comuni-cación, drogas e inmigración”, in Medios periodísticos, cooperación y acciónhumanitaria (Icaria, Barcelona, 2002); “El tráfico de drogas y América Latina en laprensa española”, in Voces y Culturas (n. 18, II semestre, 2001); and “Narcotráfico,globalización y conflictos”, in Globalización y Sistema Internacional. Anuario CIP2000 (Icaria, Madrid, 2000).

Mila Barruti, Associate Professor at the Autonomous University of BarcelonaDepartment of Social Anthropology and Culture, has participated, since 1990, invarious research projects concerning drugs policies both at national and interna-tional levels. She is the (co)-author of El món dels joves a Barcelona (Ayuntamientode Barcelona, 1990); The lines of success? (Ayuntamiento de Barcelona, 1992); Linesacross Europe (Swets&Zeitlinger,1993); Informe. Observatori de nous consums(Institut Genus, Barcelona, 2000, 2001) and other articles in international journals.

Joan Pallarés Gómez is Professor at the University of Lleida, School of Social Workand Coordinator of the Observatori de Nous Consums de Drogues en L’Ámbit Juvenilof Cataluña, as well as a member of Grup Igia. He is the author of El placer del escor-pión: antropología de la heroína y los yonquis en Cataluña. (Editorial Milenio,Lleida, 1996). In the Spanish Journal of Youth Studies Pallarés regularly publisheson issues concerning drug abuse and leisure space. Together with Aureli Díaz andMila Barruti, he has co-authored briefing papers sponsored by the Observatori denous consums (1999, 2000, 2001 y 2002). More recently, with Javier Elzo and Teresa

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Tab. 16 - Arrested people according to the type of drug and Province

2000 Barcelona Tarragona Lleida Girona

Heroin 20 4 31 3

Cocaine 26 3 33 71

Hashish 36 6 69 85

Grifa 0 0 3 0

Marijuana 0 1 6 3

Cannabis plants 0 0 2 4

Opium poppies 0 1 0 0

MDMA and associates 6 8 10 41

Speed 0 0 2 7

LSD 0 0 0 1

Amphetamine 0 0 0 2

Trankimazin 2 1 1 2

Roipnol 0 0 1 0

Methadone 1 0 0 0

Others 5 0 2 1

Source: Mossos d’Esquadra, 2000.

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About the authors

Andrés, I. (2001) “Crónica de un día en Can Tunis”. Available athttp://www.altraveu.org/antics/c20.htm

Bieleman, B., A. Díaz, G. Merlo, Ch. D. Kaplan. (1993) Lines across Europe. Natureand extent of cocaine use in Barcelona, Rotterdam and Turin. Amsterdam:Lise. Berwyn, PA. Swets & Zeitlinger.

Bobes, J., et al. (1998) Extasis (MDMA): Un abordaje comprehensivo, Barcelona:Masson.

Bobes, J., et al. (1994) “Aspectos médico – legales del éxtasis (MDMA)” in:Adicciones, Vol. 6, 4: 423-435.

Cami Morell J. (1990) “Síntesis clandestina de drogas: Pasado, presente y futuro.” inMedicina Clínica, v. 95; n. 9: 344-347.

Canal Solidario (12 December 2001), “Los toxicómanos de Can Tunis, invisiblespara el Ayuntamiento y la población de Barcelona”.

Capdevila, M., (1995) MDMA o el éxtasis químico, Barcelona: Los libros de la liebrede marzo.

DEA (2001) Ecstasy: Rolling across Europe, US Drug Enforcement Administration.

Estrella Digital (12 July 2002), “La mezcla de éxtasis, cocaína y heroína mató a 140personas en España desde 1992”.

DGP (1994-2000), Estadística Anual sobre actuaciones contra el tráfico ilícito de dro-gas, Madrid: Dirección General de Policía.

Díaz, A.; Barruti, M., Doncel, C. (1992) The lines of success? A study on the natureand extent of cocaine use in Barcelona, Barcelona: Ajuntament de Barcelona.

Díaz, A.; Pallarés, J., Barruti, M. (1999) Informe. Observatori de nous consums dedrogues en l’àmbit juvenil. Barcelona: Institut Genus. (policopiado).

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Laespada, he finalised Más allá del Botellón- a socio-anthropological study onalcohol consumption and adolescents, a forthcoming publication by theCommunity of Madrid Anti-Drug Agency. He is currently working on the design ofan Monitoring system for the Basque Observatory on Drug Dependency.

José Luis Domínguez Figueirido is a lawyer and specialist in Criminal Justice andCritical Criminology. He teaches Penal-Juridical Sociology at the University ofBarcelona and is a Technical Coordinator at the School of Police in Catalonia andthe Seguretat i Societat del Risc Network. He is an editor of the Catalonian Journalof Public Security and has published over 50 works on juridical sociology, criminol-ogy and security. Domínguez Figueirido is the co-editor of the book La JovenSociología Jurídica en España. Aportaciones para una consolidación (InstitutoInternacional de Sociología Jurídica, 1998).

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our thanks to the following people for their support, help,advise and/or input throughout the project: Oriol Romaní; Nuria Romo; Ana Lorite(Centro Documentación El País); Hannah Auer; Antonio Carmona; MaritaNadalutti; and Sandra Gil.

We are also grateful to the following institutions for the information, support orpermission to interview them during our research: Observatori de Nous Consumsde Drogues en L’Ámbit Juvenil; Associació Institut Genus; Grup Igia; EnergyControl; Centro Documentación El Mundo; Centro Documentación FAD; JefaturaSuperior del Cuerpo Nacional de Policía de Barcelona; VII Zona de la Guardia Civil;Secretaría de Prevención y Seguridad del Ayuntamiento de Barcelona; GuàrdiaUrbana de Barcelona; División de Investigación Criminal y Área de PolicíaAdministrativa de la Policía de la Generalitat-Mossos d'Esquadra; DependenciaRegional de Aduanas (Servicio de Vigilancia Aduanera in Cataluña) and Sección IIde la Audiencia Provincial de Barcelona) and the Línea Verde de Información sobreDrogodependencias; Dirección General de Farmacia y Productos Sanitarios.

Finally, we would like to acknowledge the collaboration of all those interviewedalong with those who have facilitated contacts and participated at different levelsof the fieldwork. Our special gratitude goes out to them. Without their help thisresearch study would not have been possible.

160

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